Time Distorter
by Connor the speling pro
Summary: A change in history, a distortion in the timeline. Two young heroes: one lost, and the other one captured. A young hero-to-be and a juvenile boy-turned-chimera. How much can these four boys change history? Read on to find out. (ft. DarkFoxKit)
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Tazmily

**Connor the speling pro: Hey, everyone! I'm writing this fanfic with DarkFoxKit. Fox was originally posting this story, but we decided to switch over to me.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah. I was unable to keep the story in my account due to certain circumstances, so we decided to post it on Connor's account. We apologize for the readers who had read and reviewed the first two chapters that were posted on my account.**

 **Connor: I want to say something a whole lot of stuff about the story, but everything that I want to point out is already written into the story. If you guys are curious (or even if you're not), I write Earthbound fanfiction on my own. I have a story called "Ceres" that I'm still working on. Man, I love shameless self-promotion! :D**

 **DarkFoxKit: If you hadn't yet, check out his other Earthbound fanfictions too. Anyways, we won't say too much for this first chapter, so we hope you enjoy and be sure to leave a review on what you think.**

 **Disclaimer: DarkFoxKit and Connor do not own the Mother/Earthbound series. They just do fanfictions of them for your enjoyment.**

 **Connor: You gotta love how we talk about ourselves in third person! Oh wait, I mean, how Connor and DarkFoxKit talk about themselves in third person. ;) But I won't waste any more of your time. Do you have anything else to say, Fox?**

 **DarkFoxKit: Heeeeey, you little jokester! Nobody says anything after the disclaimer! … On with the story!**

* * *

 _"Help… help… Wake up… please…"_

 _Huh? … Who's there?_

 _"Hurry… wake up. There's… not much time."_

 _What… Am I asleep?_

 _"Help… please…"_

* * *

Somewhere in a forest, an 13 year old boy lay unconscious. He wore a red hat that covered his black hair, along wore a white, blue and red striped shirt and a red scarf around his neck. The boy slowly began to open his eyes and groggily sat up.

"Huh…? Where am I…?" he wondered out loud as he looked around. "... Do… do I live here?" He stood up, not sure where he should go. The place looked peaceful enough, and he spotted a cabin nearby.

 _Might as well check out that cabin,_ he thought.

The boy paced up to the cabin, feeling a certain level of anxiety well up in his heart. Just what would he find inside? He shook his head. Worry would get him nowhere.

He knocked on the door once, twice, three times.

"Who's there?" came a voice from inside.

"I'm…" the boy paused, cocking his head in thought. Who _was_ he?

 _I can't remember anything!_ He realized in alarm. _How did I even get here?_

"I'm Ninten," the boy said, spouting off the first name that came into his head. "Er… this might be a weird question, but do I live here?"

The door opened slightly to reveal a middle aged man. "... No, I don't think you do. I've never seen you before."

"O-oh… I must've wandered here by accident." Ninten said with a frown. "Um… maybe I live somewhere else…? Uh… is there a town nearby?"

"... Tazmily Village lies not far from here. Are you okay, kid?" The man asked in concern.

"I'm fine… I just… don't remember where I live," Ninten said, feeling rather embarrassed that he couldn't remember something as simple as that.

"That's odd. Maybe you hit your head," the man said with a frown. "Well… if you really do live here, maybe you should walk around. It might help jog your memory. Head that way and you'll reach the village in a few minutes."

Ninten nodded; that seemed logical enough. "Alright, yeah; I'll do that. Thanks!"

Ninten waved and walked away from the man's house, feeling like a fool.

 _Man, I always get so awkward when I interact with people,_ he thought with a sigh. _At least I remember that much about myself._

Ninten strode through the forest, taking in the fresh air. After a few steps, a giant mouse scampered past him. Ninten had seen mice before, but this one looked gargantuan compared to the ones that he pictured in his mind.

 _Okay, I do not remember these. I guess that can't really blame myself for forgetting about them… even now, I wish that I hadn't seen that disgusting, oversized rodent._

Ninten shook his head. What kind of place _was_ this? Well, no point in worrying about it now. He had memories to find. He took back off walking, feeling a little less secure this time.

He passed numerous trees, noticing that they were diminishing in number as the dirt path was slowly turning into concrete road. He saw some buildings up ahead and sighed in relief at the familiar sight. But before he could get out of the forest completely something slithered past him. Ninten gave a slight yelp at the sudden creature, he thought for sure it was a snake, but then he saw its head.

 _Am I losing my mind!? I may not remember much, but I'm pretty sure snakes do NOT have chicken heads!_ The boy stared at the weird chicken headed snake that was now in front of him. _… Is this some kind of alien planet? I'm starting to think it is._

The chicken headed creature started slithering closer to him, making Ninten back up. The boy realized he wouldn't be able to get into the village with this thing blocking his way.

 _I think this thing is dangerous… I don't want to chance it…_ Not knowing what to do, Ninten tried to look around for a weapon he could use. He saw a good sized stick nearby and picked it up. _I guess it's better than nothing._

The chicken snake hissed and lunged at him. Ninten yelped as he swung the stick instinctively to beat it back. The chicken snake tumbled to the ground, but Ninten could tell that he had only made it angrier. It lunged at Ninten and tried to wrap its body around him. He struggled against the snake creature, trying to wriggle free as it started to peck at his face.

 _Well, this has got to be the most embarrassing way to go down,_ he thought wryly.

The thought of losing to this pathetic little excuse for an organism made him angry. With a grunt, he broke free from the creature's grasp.

 _There we go!_ he thought excitedly.

The snake-chicken-whatever hadn't resolved its feud with Ninten, though. It lunged at him a second time, its beak outstretched in an attempt to peck Ninten.

"Take this!" Ninten shouted as he swung his stick with both hands like a baseball bat, catching the creature mid-leap.

SMAAASH!

Ninten heard a satisfying _crack!_ sound as the creature flew backwards further than it should have, slamming into a rouge tree.

 _Okay, that... thing won't be getting up anytime soon. Score one for Ninten!_ He pumped his fist in the air.

With the chicken snake creature out of the way, the boy decided to run out of the forest before any more weird creatures decided to attack him.

Out of the forest and into the small town, Ninten felt at ease. He looked around before frowning at the realization he didn't recognize this place at all, and for some reason it felt… smaller than he expected. _That's weird… Why did I expect it to be bigger?_

Ninten walked around the small town before he came to a place where a few people were gathered and listening to a strange looking man. Curious, the boy walked over to the group of people who were listening to him.

"-And the village will never prosper to its full potential if not everyone has a Happy Box. However, we are doing everything we can to help the progress by importing things you've never seen before from the big city," The strange man said to the group of people, who appeared to be hanging onto his every word.

Ninten raised an eyebrow, he had no idea what the heck a 'Happy Box' was or why these people seem to think that it was so important. If anything, it just sounded like something a little kid would name their favorite toy.

 _Would it be rude to interrupt here?_ Ninten asked himself. _Probably. Should I care? ...I guess I should try not to make a bad name for myself, since I don't know where in the world I am._

Luckily, the strange-looking man saved Ninten the trouble of entering the conversation.

"Why hello there!" he exclaimed in an exaggerated way that made Ninten think that he wasn't completely sincere. "Who might you be?"

 _Okay, so he doesn't know me,_ Ninten thought. He looked around at the other villagers. Every one of them regarded Ninten with a curious expression. _So nobody here knows who I am. I guess I don't live here…?_

"The name's Ninten," he said, not knowing enough about himself to elaborate more.

"Ah, Ninten. You must be new here. I've been in this village for almost two years now and I've never seen you before. In fact, most kids I see are girls, and you are certainly not one of the two boys who I know. Where's your family, kid? Have you picked up your Happy Box yet?" The man asked him in a kind tone.

 _Why do you care?_ Ninten wanted to ask and then immediately regretted the thought. The man seemed genuine enough… Ninten supposed that he should try to play along.

"I… er… I guess I am new here," he started, already faltering. "My family? Uh… I don't actually know where they are right now. What's a happy box?"

 _Great,_ Ninten thought. _Now I probably look like a first class idiot._

As if to confirm his thought, the people around him suddenly gasped in shock.

"This boy doesn't know what a Happy Box is?"

"Has he been living under a rock?"

"Surely you jest, boy!"

The man raised his hands to calm the crowd. "Now, now, remember this boy is new here. Something may have happened to his family and we should respect him for that. A Happy Box is a very happy item, it's something that will keep you happy even in the darkest of days."

 _I wonder if he could have made that sound any more ambiguous,_ Ninten thought.

"Er… I gathered that, but what exactly does it _do?_ " Ninten asked.

"Ah, excellent question, young Ninten. Why don't you get one and see for yourself? After all a Happy Box isn't something you can describe; it's something you must experience," The man said with a jolly laugh.

 _We have a politician here,_ Ninten thought. _Giving me a straight answer seems to be a trouble for this guy._

"I actually have something important to do right now," Ninten lied. "I'll get back to you on this one, if that's all right."

"Sure, sure, take all the time you need to think about it, young man. I just hope you'll learn to see that a Happy Box will help improve your life," The man said with a jolly smile.

 _Something about this guy seems fake,_ Ninten thought. _He seems too nice… but maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe he really does act kind out of the goodness of his heart._

Ninten didn't feel like he knew this place at all, but he did feel a sense of familiarity as he walked around and explored the place, as if he had done something like this before. He knocked on doors of houses to see if anyone knew him.

"Uh… excuse me…? My name's Ninten, do you know where I live?" The boy felt foolish for asking this kind of question, but it was the only thing he _could_ ask to find his home.

A young man wearing a straw hat shook his head. "Sorry, but I don't know any Ninten."

Ninten tried another house, only to get the same results, making him start to wonder if 'Ninten' really was his name after all. He even tried a big, fancy looking house, where a middle aged fat man answered the door. There was something… familiar and pristine about him that Ninten is sure he's seen- and despised- before.

"What do you want, kid? Did you come to deposit some DP into my charity box?" The fat man asked, looking down at the 13 year old boy.

"Uh…" Ninten didn't even know what 'DP' was. "I was just wondering if you knew where I lived. My name's Ninten."

"... Nope, never heard of you. Now unless you have any business with me or you wish to make a donation, get off my property. I'm much too important to deal with a little pest like you." The fat man said with an attitude before closing his door in Ninten's face.

"... Yeah, I think I've seen an attitude like that before." Ninten grumbled.

The boy put his hands in his pocket as he walked to a place called the "Yado Inn". Ninten took out a few dollars he had in his pocket.

"This should be enough to stay in the Inn for at least a couple of nights… hopefully I can find out where I live before I really need it," he said to himself.

Ninten opened the door to the inn and stepped inside. He took in the atmosphere of the room around him, surprised at how posh it looked.

 _My, my… I didn't expect an inn like this in such a small village. Is that air conditioning I feel?_

A wave of dread washed over Ninten. A nice place like this would likely cost a lot of money. Ninten didn't know how long he could last on the cash that he had. Hopefully he could find an ATM soon.

"Hello," a man standing behind the counter said. "I haven't seen you before. Did you come from New Pork City?"

 _What kind of a name for a city is that?_

"No, actually," Ninten replied. "I uh… well, I just can't go home right now. How much does it cost to stay here for the night?"

"For one room… that would be 300 DP," the man answered.

"Okay…" Ninten said, trying not to panic. "Do you accept dollars? I don't have any DP."

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Dollars? I'm afraid not."

"Well, this is _wonderful_ ," Ninten muttered. "I'm stuck in a place that I don't recognize without my memory and I can't even buy anything!"

Ninten paused. If he had money that the innkeeper didn't even recognize, he probably came from a remote area. He matched that up to his surprise at seeing such a high-end hotel and it made even more sense. He probably came from a small town that didn't have big, fancy hotels and used archaic currency. Now he just needed to find a way to get _back_ there.

"Well, if you need charity then why don't you go talk to that rural family that refuses to change in these modern times? I'm sure maybe they would take you in, after all they're missing a boy of their own," The innkeeper said rudely.

Ninten didn't really like his attitude, but he decided to excuse it with the stress of having to run such a high-class inn. "I wouldn't want to impose on them, especially if they just lost someone they loved."

"Then I guess you better learn to sleep on the streets or find a job to get money. Now please, don't come back here anymore unless you have the DP," The innkeeper said.

Ninten walked out of the Inn, feeling rather discouraged. He had no leads to where he came from, nothing seems remotely familiar and he was all alone in this strange new place without any currency. _What should I do now? … I guess maybe I could just keep walking for a bit…_

Without having any destination in mind, Ninten walked past the town and into a more rural place. He spotted a single house atop a small hill. Feeling curious Ninten walked up to it. There was always a chance he could've lived in this house. A doghouse and a sheep pen lay outside.

Ninten took a deep breath before he knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

"Father, why are you knocking on the door?" came a voice from inside. It sounded like a boy, maybe someone who was about Ninten's age. "You can just come in. This is your house too."

Ninten awkwardly scratched his cheek with his finger. _I hope he's not really my son… I'm way too young to have one…_ "Um… actually I uh… I'm not your father." he spoke up. "I'm actually lost…"

"Oh!"

Ninten heard shuffling feet approach the door. After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing a blond-haired boy, he wore a red and yellow striped shirt that looked similar to Ninten's. He looked up at Ninten nervously.

"Sorry about that," the boy apologized. "We don't get many visitors these days. So… you said that you're lost? Where are you trying to go?"

"Uh… Home I guess," Ninten said, shuffling his feet awkwardly. "My name is Ninten… at least I think that's my name… and I can't seem to find my way back home. Do you know anyone who might be missing a 13 year old child?"

The boy cocked his head.

"I… don't know anyone who's missing a child, unless you count my father. And I'm pretty sure you're not my brother," he added with a shy smile. "So, Ninten, huh? My name's Lucas. It's nice to meet you."

Lucas offered a hand awkwardly. Like Ninten, he seemed a bit nervous about social confrontation.

Ninten took Lucas's hand and shook it a bit before they let go. Ninten gave a sigh before he said, "Do you know where I could stay tonight? I don't own any of this 'DP' currency and I have nowhere else to go. The adults are kind of rude, but you seem nice."

Lucas blushed.

"I… err… well, you can stay here! Ever since Claus went missing, we've had a bunch of extra space anyway. And my father doesn't always come home at night…" Lucas shook his head. "But you probably don't want to hear about that! You have bigger issues, like finding your way back home! Where do you live?"

"Your father doesn't always come home?" That brought a familiar and somewhat bitter sense to Ninten, but he didn't know why. "That's kind of sad… and I take it this Claus is your missing brother?"

Lucas nodded, staring wistfully at the world outside of the door.

"Yeah… he went missing two years ago. Father spends most of his time looking for him. I can't blame him too much… after losing mother, he fell to pieces. Now all that's left are broken shards of who he used to be." Lucas paused, furrowing his eyebrows. "Nah, it's probably not that severe. Regardless, father _did_ change, and not for the better. But hey, like I said, you have problems of your own. You probably don't want to hear about mine."

Ninten slowly walked into the house, it looked more… primitive than the other houses he's seen, but it had a certain charm and warmth to it that none of the others did. It felt a lot smaller and cramped than what Ninten was used to- at least he assumed so- but that wasn't necessarily bad.

"You sure about this, Lucas? I wouldn't want to impose or anything. I mean, I did just come out of the blue," Ninten said.

Lucas nodded enthusiastically, his blue eyes shining with a level of excitement that took Ninten back.

"I really don't mind!" he exclaimed. "In fact, it would be a nice change of routine. Living on my own gets pretty boring after a while. How long do you think that you'll stay here?"

"Um… I don't know… it depends on how long it takes me to find my home." Ninten said as he lowered his red cap over his eyes, feeling rather embarrassed that he wasn't sure how long he'd have to stay in this boy's house.

"Well, feel free to stay as long as you like!" Lucas said with a genuine smile. "I'm sure that we can make room for you! But I can't imagine that you would stay here too long, right? After all, you'll probably want to head out to other places to search, right?"

"I-I guess so." Ninten frowned. "But… I don't know where to go. I don't even know how I got here. I assumed that I- err… well don't I live here in this town?" The boy figured that he probably didn't live here, but he wanted to make sure.

Lucas cocked his head in thought.

"I don't think so…" he replied. "I've lived in this village my whole life, and I've never seen you before. But wait… are you saying that you don't know where you live?"

"N-no!" Ninten's cheeks began to flush in embarrassment. "I just… wanted to make sure… this wasn't the right town! Erm… I sometimes get confused which town is which."

"Oh, so you've been to Tazmily before?" Lucas asked.

"... M-maybe…?" Ninten looked away, not wanting the other boy to look at his flushed face. "It's just… it looks… um… different…?"

Lucas' face flashed with understanding.

"Yeah, Tazmily has changed a lot, huh?" he asked.

Ninten looked at Lucas as if shocked by this, but quickly cleared his throat and said, "Y-yeah, so I guess you can't blame me for not recognizing it. So what do you eat around here? Maybe we could buy something? I mean assuming you have enough of those 'DP' for food?"

"Oh, yeah!" Lucas exclaimed, who looked like he just had another epiphany. "You don't know about DP! A merchant named Fassad brought a form of money called DP, or Dragon Points, to Tazmily a couple years ago. As for eating… we have the standard foods. Bread, eggs, jerky, all of that. Maybe I'll go out to the store and get some ingredients to make omelets!"

"That sounds good. I've been hungry all day since I woke up in that forest." Ninten smiled before realizing what he said. "I-I mean since I… _walked_ in that forest."

Lucas shot Ninten a strange look.

"Are you okay, Ninten?" the blond asked. "What's this about you waking up in a forest?"

Ninten sighed before thinking to himself. _I guess maybe it wouldn't hurt to tell him the truth. I mean, he's been nice enough to let me stay with him and even offered to feed me while I'm lost in this unfamiliar world. The least I could do is be honest with him..._

The scarf wearing boy nodded to himself before turning back to Lucas. "Well… Lucas… the truth is… I can't remember anything other than my name and the basic knowledge of life since I woke up in the forest outside of this village a few hours ago."

"Oh!" Lucas exclaimed, looking embarrassed for some reason. "Amnesia! We need to get your memory back!" He stopped himself, taking a deep breath. "But you said that you're hungry, right? Omelets should probably come first."

"Y-yeah… But aren't you a little young to cook? Shouldn't we wait for your dad?" Ninten asked.

"Nah," Lucas replied with an impish smile. "I needed to learn how to cook for myself after mother died and father spent most of his time searching for Claus. It's not that hard. Come on, let's go to the store!"

"Whoa!" Ninten yelped as an excited Lucas suddenly grabbed his arm and practically dragged him out of the house.


	2. Chapter 2: A Dark Future

**DarkFoxKit: Hi everyone! I see Time Distorter is a bit hit with only the first chapter. Are you as surprised as I am about this, Connor?**

 **Connor: Yeah, totally! Nothing that I've written has ever been super popular, so this came out of the blue and smacked me in the face… in a good way. xD Thanks, everyone! :D**

 **DarkFoxKit: But of course, this had caused a few complications with a good friend of mine. So we've decided to dedicate this AN to him and my other fanfiction I'm working on with him. Of course we'll answer reviews at the bottom to make it easier for ourselves. Mother 3: To Rebuild or to be Reborn? That's the story Donfyre and I have been working on, and I gotta say that it's been growing quite popular. And Donfyre, my other co-writer, has worked hard to help me out with it, and he's a great artist and writer. So Donfyre, if you're reading this, I hope you remember that even though I sometimes work with other people like Connor here, I still greatly appreciate everything you've done for me and the stories you've helped me with. I look forward to your help in the future too.**

 **Connor: Well, I don't know him (you? Did we switch to talking in second person?), so I can't say much in that regard, but I am looking forward to seeing how Rebuild and Reborn turns out. :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah, and I was talking directly to Fyre there. I hope everyone who's reading this and Connor's story will enjoy Rebuild and Reborn too, and to encourage Donfyre. The boy's got pretty low self esteem. ^^' But he's very lovable if not impatient. :P**

 **Connor: ...And Fyre's okay with you telling the world that he has low self-esteem? Am I the only one who would find that slightly embarrassing if I were in his situation? ...Maybe I'm just weird.**

 **DarkFoxKit: He's pretty much already told the world that in Rebuild and Reborn's AN. But I wanted the readers to know he's a great writer and Rebuild and Reborn is a great story too, just like this one.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Okay, this is where we'll answer the reviews!**

 **Connor: I wanted to keep these here just in case someone reviewed ch. 1 and missed the last one before we took it down. :)**

 **oOShamusOo:** **Thanks, glad to see you're excited for this to continue.**

 **CalmTheHydreigon:**

 **Connor: Thanks! :) And hey, fortune tellers are cool (so long as it's not super serious). After all, Earthbound is game about people with psychic powers!**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah, though ironically nobody in the Mother series can actually see into the future.**

 **the odd one:** **"better than your other earthbound fanfic". I really rather people don't say that about my stories, especially if I'm writing with another co-writer, it just insults them. I'm glad you like this story, but please don't say that's it's much better than my other one.**

 **Connor: Err… yeah, thanks for the support/compliments, but that line about being better than the other one probably wasn't needed. :(**

 **Donfyre:**

 **DarkFoxKit: Hey Donfyre! :3 Well no story or chapter is perfect, but thanks for the compliment. And uh, you may have missed the 'an 13 year old' in the beginning of the chapter- I've fixed it now- but thank Connor for the grammar stuff. I may be imaginative but grammar is definitely not my strong forte. ^^'**

 **Connor: Well, grammar is a good forte not to have. After all, ideas are what brings life to the stories that we tell. :) And thanks! I'm glad that you like the characters; they're usually what I put the most thinking into.**

 **DarkFoxKit: You certainly do. :P**

 **12courtney12:** **Whoa, sounds like someone's excited for another Mother 3 fanfic! Kinda funny how this got brought up while you were just browsing around, huh? I hope the story doesn't disappoint.**

 **Connor: Yeah, thanks! :) ...I would say more, but I've got nothing right now. xD**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** **Connor: Yeah, Fox and I have been working on this for a while (both brainstorming and actually writing), but I wanted to keep it a secret. :P And I hope that this chapter answers your question about the multi-POV. And hey, this review was still longer than many others, and short reviews are still appreciated! :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yup! Connor pretty much said it all. I seem to work best when someone else is working with me, so I guess that's why I wanted to try out co-writing so much.**

 **adricarra:** **Glad to see you're interested, though it's only the first chapter.**

 **Connor: Well, that's probably why you didn't say more, right? ...Or maybe you just didn't feel like saying as much. That's fine too. :)**

 **The-Great-Me-sama:** **I'm one of your favorites as an Earthbound author? Heh, awesome, especially since I've only written one Earthbound fanfic so far, not counting this one. ^^' And uh, I think I'll let Connor talk about Lucas's personality since he handles Lucas.**

 **Connor: Thanks for pointing that out! I do have reasons for Lucas' immediate acceptance of Ninten, but I don't want to spill all of my thoughts out right now. I can say that one of the reasons is that he's lonely. D: And as for what Lucas calls his parents… there are reasons for that as well (reasons that I didn't fully grasp**

 **at the time of writing that chapter, but reasons nonetheless ;P).**

 **DarkFoxKit: And the time-skip… well it kinda happened, I mean it's been two years since Hinawa died, just not three like in the game. And as for if Ninten knows PSI… well… you'll find out later.**

 **A Fan:** **Hello there! … *looks at Connor* There's a review center for your fanfiction?**

 **Connor: ...I don't know if I would call it that, but I do have a few reviewers who are pretty loyal to my stories (thanks, by the way! :D). And sorry, we don't respond to reviews. D: I apologize; I just couldn't resist saying that! xD**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah, we CLEARLY aren't responding to reviews as we speak. :)**

 **crabbyTomato:** **Yay, someone can see why Lucas was so happy to meet Ninten! :D And yeah, gotta feel bad for the kid. After Hinawa's death, things have been going downhill for Lucas.**

 **Connor: I love your description of Fassad! "That greasy rat…" Perfect! :)**

 **Silvereyer:** **Yeah, the first chapters usually look promising, I just hope the rest can follow through. I've seen some fanfictions with promising starts but then just kinda deteriorated later on. Thank you for pointing out any mistakes we make, especially grammar wise as that's really hard for us to spot. Again, I'll leave the Lucas comment to Connor here since he controls that character.**

 **As for how we write the story, we write it together, it's a lot easier that way and less tedious than doing one chapter ourselves and wait for the other to finish. I've tried that way before, it's really… meh. You would rather want to write solo then, at least you don't have to wait to continue the next chapter.**

 **Connor: Yeah, we switch off scenes when there's no dialogue and we each control our own characters when there is dialogue. We have a couple of characters that we always control (Lucas being one of mine), but we switch off with the minor characters. It can cause a few issues, actually… but it's more fun to write with someone else. :)**

 **As for Lucas, he does have reasons for accepting Ninten immediately, one of them being that he's lonely. D:**

 **DarkFoxKit: I think he meant Lucas was a bit too open about telling Ninten about his mother and brother's death. But like Connor says; he has his reasons.**

 **The person:** **Yeah, I know what you mean. Usually when fanfiction involves all three main protagonists it's AU, not that it's a bad thing, I enjoyed most of those AUs, but it's really rare to find one that's closer to the canon universe.**

 **Connor: ...Well, I usually push for writing stuff further away from canon, so you can blame me if the story deviates too far from the game. ;)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah, Connor here wants to keep things as different from the canon universe as possible.**

 **Flun:** **Heh… yeah, gotta love those shameless self-promotions. I kinda just did one myself actually. ^^' But can you blame us? We would also like for you guys to check out our other stories too. :P Of course I know you've read Rebuild or Reborn, but hey, can't hurt to let other people know about it, right? I'll leave most of your comments on City of Progress to Connor since that's his story.**

 **I don't play Final Fantasy, any of them, so anything that's similar to it is purely coincidence on my part. ^^' More comments on City of Progress.**

 **And as for your question on our updating schedule, it's planned to be weekly, but it may be a day or two late since Connor is a busy young man and we need to get together to do the ANs and whatnot.**

 **Connor: Heh, I'll try my best to be free for updates, but you know how life goes. :) And I would feel more guilty about my self-promotions if you had to pay for them. But since it's all free… why not? :)**

 **Ah, well, glad that you liked City of Progress! :D To be honest, I feel like it had a few gaping flaws, though. Still, it did have moments that I'm proud of, and it's great to share that with the world (and by the world, I mean the hundred or so Earthbound fanfiction readers xD). As for Lucas… let's just say that he and Flint don't always have the same ideas about searching for Claus and who to trust. ;)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Well, that takes care of all the reviewers. Thank you guys for reading and supporting the chapter, and I hope you guys will enjoy our other stories too. Donfyre would appreciate to hear from what you guys think of Rebuild and Reborn as well and he's a great co-writer too! I am DarkFoxKit, this is Connor the speling pro and we look forward to hearing from you!**

* * *

In a dark, gray prison cell, another boy with a red cap and a blue and yellow striped shirt woke. He slowly sat up from the cold, hard floor.

 _Ugh… What happened…? My whole body aches…_ The boy thought as he looked around. _Did I get arrested…?_

He then heard what sounded like a pig squeal and shuffling nearby. He slowly got up on his feet and walked over to the bars to see if there was anyone nearby, but it was too dark to tell for certain.

"Um… hello?" he called. "Could someone tell me why I'm here?"

"So you're finally awake… Ness," A voice spoke out of the darkness.

"Who's there?" Ness asked, adrenaline boosting his senses. In less than a second, he scanned the room, hoping to find something that he could use as a weapon.

Nothing.

A figure walked up to him and turned on a flashlight, allowing Ness to finally see who spoke to him. It was someone wearing a smooth, white pig costume and a cape. Ness' eyes cringed at the sudden abundance of light

"I'm here to take you to King P himself. He's been waiting for your awakening. Now just come with me and don't make any sudden moves," The pig person said to him.

 _King P?_ Ness thought. _Who's King P? Did he lock me up? I wonder why… but I guess that doesn't matter right now. Can I take this guy in a fight? Probably. Can I take this guy and what other minions this King P has in a fight? ...Maybe not. I should act docile for now._

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry for staying asleep and keeping the _great_ and _wonderful_ King P waiting while I was knocked out," Ness replied. "I suppose that I should rectify that situation, hmm?"

 _Okay, maybe not docile,_ Ness thought, _but not outright hostile._

"Don't make any sarcastic remarks kid. King P is not a patient guy. And if you try any of your PSI stunts, the shock collar around your neck will go off," The pig person said as he unlocked the jail cell and opening the door. "Now get out."

 _A shock collar…_ Ness thought in horror. Not being able to use his PSI would severely hinder any chances that he had to escape. _Screw this King P for actually finding a way to neutralize my overpowered abilities. Leave it to him to actually make things relatively fair! I wonder how he knew about my PSI in the first place, though..._

Ness, however, decided that it would be best not to show fear.

"A shock collar… like a monkey, huh?" Ness asked. "You're a pig and I'm a monkey. I even heard you squeal like one. Should I start making monkey noises?"

The pig person responded by pushing Ness to the ground before jerking him back up with his arm. "I said no sarcastic remarks. Now move it before I make you!"

 _That wasn't even sarcasm,_ Ness thought bitterly. _If you want to physically abuse me, at least have the correct knowledge of literary devices to back it up! People these days..._

A series of long, murky hallways stretched out in front of Ness. It felt like this place had absolutely no lighting whatsoever. The pig person pushed Ness forward, nudging him where to go when it was necessary. They passed by a few more prison cells, most of them had weird creatures in them, but otherwise were empty.

"What are those creatures?" Ness asked. _Knowing this guy, he'll think that was sarcastic as well._

"Those are King P's creation to the world." The pig person said. "They are known as chimeras. There are thousands of different kinds, most of them mechanical as they are the easiest to order around."

"Would you be offended if I said that they looked even uglier than you?" Ness asked innocently.

"You don't even know what I look like, you annoying brat. What King P sees in you I'll never know," The pig person snapped at him. "Now keep moving!"

Ness almost felt disappointed that the pigmask hadn't responded with physical violence. It made it seem like his insult wasn't insulting enough.

"Fine, fine," Ness muttered, adopting a fake smile and skipping through the prison. "There. Is this better?"

The pigmasked person didn't even bother to reply, instead grabbing Ness's arms and pulling him through the dungeon of prison cells. Eventually, they climbed the stairs and walked into a brighter hallway. It felt much warmer up here, but it was still rather dark.

"We're here," The pigmasked person said. "I don't know what history you have with King P, but I suggest not pushing your luck with him right now."

"I want to say something else that will annoy you, but I really can't think of anything," Ness said. "I guess I'll just say thanks for the advice."

"You better, otherwise you might end up like another boy who was brought in here two years ago," The pig person said before walking away.

 _Another kid…_ Ness thought. _How ominous. And I thought that I was the dramatic one here!_

Ness frowned before looking around, trying to figure out where this King P is. He didn't have to wait long before something fell from the ceiling and landed in front of him. Ness jumped back from the spider-like machine that now stood in front of him.

"What in the…" Ness didn't know how to finish the sentence. He stared at the spider-like machine before noticing there was short, chubby old man inside. "... Uh… is someone dying in there?"

"Hilarious, Ness," a voice inside the mech rasped. "Truly, your wit amuses me. Now, you're probably wondering why I captured you."

"Oh, now I remember! You ambushed me back in Onett!" Ness frowned at this. "And then you knocked me out. So you're King P? Why did you bring me here, Porky? … And why are you so old? It's only been a year since the whole Giygas incident."

"I'm going to tell you a little secret, Ness," Porky replied. "Most of my minions are largely ineffective, like the type that would get steamrolled by a hero in a book or movie. That is why I brought you here As for my age… I do not think that you would believe me if I told you why I look so old, nor do I wish for you to know."

Ness wasn't entirely sure what Porky was talking about, but he wanted to find out. "Minions? Since when did _you_ have minions? The closest thing you ever had to minions were those bodyguards back in Fourside."

Porky started laughing, which quickly devolved into a coughing fit.

"Ah, but you've already met one of them, Ness," Porky answered in a superior tone. "If you don't know what I mean, then maybe you are even stupider than I imagined."

"Hey! You're the one who got manipulated by an alien!" Ness snapped, feeling his pride hurt a little. "Wait… you made an army? And you did this in under a year? Wow Porky, that's really… impressive. Are you a tyrant now? Because you look like a tyrant, or rather, you look like a dying old man who's been a tyrant for years."

"Ah, Ness, you and your petty insults again," Porky replied in the same superior tone. "But I don't care anymore. Tyrant… dying old man… those words carry no connotations for me. I suppose that I am both."

"I suppose I don't really know what you've been doing unless you give me the full story," Ness said with a frown. "What happened to you, Porky? You just kind of disappeared after the fight with Giygas. I've been trying to find you, but it's like you just vanished."

Porky didn't respond for about a minute, just sitting there in his mech. It made Ness wonder if Porky had heard him.

"I guess I should tell you the truth," Porky wheezed. "I brought you to the future, Ness."

"... Wait, what?" Ness looked around in shock. "This is the future? How far into the future are we talking here?"

"I don't really know," Porky replied, "Nor do I care. In this world, I am King P. But while the time difference doesn't matter for me, it most certainly _does_ matter for you. Yes, I see that look of realization in your eyes, Ness. You will _never_ see your family again! How does that feel?"

"... Porky… why did you take me away from my own timeline? Was it for revenge? To make me squirm?" Ness demanded, all his jokes and sarcasm were gone.

"I cannot deny that it is nice to see _you_ suffer for a change," Porky answered, "But I am a practical person with practical interests. Like I said before, my minions are ineffective. I need someone to help me achieve my goals, Ness. I need you. Who knows? Maybe if you do a good enough job, I'll send you back home."

"And what makes you think I would want to help you after you kidnapped me from my timeline?" Ness demanded. "What if I don't want to help you with your crazy goals and try to find my own way back home?"

"Then I'll brainwash you," Porky replied simply. "You either choose to help me or lose the will to choose. Those are your options."

Ness didn't like those options, but he could tell that this former shell of his friend wasn't kidding around. The boy felt the metal of the collar clamp around his neck. He wouldn't be able to escape without his PSI and he lacked a weapon; he was nothing but a regular 14 year old right now.

Ness took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll do what you want." _For now…_

"Good…" Porky rasped. "I knew that even someone as stubborn as you would come around eventually. First, I will introduce you to one of my less useless officers. He's effective, and brutally so. See if you can figure out why. He'll show you the ropes."

"And who would that be? Another one of those squealing pig people?" Ness asked, his wry humor coming back.

"No, no… not them. Didn't I say that they were just the type to get overrun by a stereotypical hero? I will introduce you to someone _far_ more effective."

Right as he said that, another pigmask entered the room. Ness raised an eyebrow before looking at Porky again.

"This isn't the person I was talking about," Porky wheezed, "But he'll take you to the person. Grow a brain, Ness."

"Ha ha, very funny," Ness grumbled.

The pigmask was a different color; this one wore green instead of white like the last one, and it didn't wear a cape. "Come on, this way."

Ness reluctantly followed the green pigmask away from Porky, yet he couldn't help but look back at the old version of his former friend one last time before they left through the door.

The green pigmask walked Ness through another hallway. Ness didn't speak this time; he was rather disturbed to see Porky like this. There were more pigmask people running around here, many of them wearing different colors. Most of them were pink, some were blue, and there were only a few white ones there. Ness guessed that their colors had something to do with the ranking system.

The green pigmask stopped in front of a door and said, "We're here. If I may make a suggestion: show some respect."

Ness just rolled his eyes at that, but didn't say anything as the green pigmask walked away. The boy wasn't sure if he should knock or just walk right in, so he opt for the latter option and open the door. "Hello? Por- I mean King P sent me here to see someone?"

Ness noticed someone in the corner, standing there. The person looked to be around his height, wearing a black jacket, a pair of orange pants with a belt buckle, and black boots. But it was the person's face that got Ness… he looked like a boy around his age if not a little younger. His hair was an orange-ginger color, and his eyes… one was green but the other was red. Ness tried not to show the horror that he felt.

"Master Porky… sent you here?" The boy said in a dead tone.

 _Oh my gosh!_ Ness thought in shock. _This kid could unnerve Poo, and he doesn't ever show emotion._

Ness placed a hand over his heart, still trying to retain an even face.

"Er… yeah, he did. Um… yeah, that's right."

 _Okay, genius,_ Ness thought to himself. _Do I have any other ways to embarrass myself right now? If so, I should probably get them out of my system._

The other boy kept staring at him as if waiting for something. Ness wasn't sure what to say and felt too unnerved to speak up. Finally, when Ness hadn't said another word for a full minute, the boy said, "And what were his orders?"

"Um, you know… that's a pretty good question. I think he said something about you showing me around? Maybe?"

"Insufficient information. Could you be more specific?" The boy almost sounded like a robot and it unnerved Ness even more.

"He told us to chill out and play Mario Kart together," Ness replied, trying to sound serious. "Although, I don't know why he chose Mario Kart. I guess he really wants us to hate each other. I don't know anyone who _doesn't_ yell at that game."

The other kid only stared at him blankly. "This does not have any meaning to me. Perhaps you were mistaken when Master Porky sent you here."

 _It was a joke, but okay…_ Ness thought.

"Hm… well, he said that he wants me to join this little troupe of yours, but he doesn't want me to be a regular pigmask," Ness explained. "I think he plans for me to be something like you. Kid power!" Ness paused, hoping for a reaction from the other kid. He received none. "Er… um, okay. But yeah, I think that he just wanted you to show me around here and explain what's what."

 _He had another reason for sending me here,_ Ness thought. _He wanted me to meet you and see your emptiness first hand. I wonder what happened to this kid._

"If Master Porky wanted me to give you a tour, that is within my functions," The kid said in that never ending dead-like tone. "I will show you what you must know."

"Okay, but I was thinking that we should introduce ourselves first!" Ness exclaimed. _Anything to get some info about this kid… why does Porky care so much about me meeting him?_ "My name is Ness and I come from Onett. I enjoy playing baseball, using baseball bats for things other than baseball, and saving the world. How about you?"

The other boy's face didn't change. "... If you must know… I have no name of my own. I was created in the Chimera Lab. My only purpose is to carry out orders."

Ness' smile remained on his face, but inside he couldn't believe what he heard. A wave of dread passed over him.

 _This kid was… synthesized? But that doesn't make any sense. Why not make a robot instead? Then again, Porky doesn't always think logically._

Ness shrugged. He could observe this kid more once they went on the tour.

"Well, that sounds pleasant," Ness joked. "Truly, it sounds like an enriching and fulfilling life. I'm starting to go green with envy." Still no response. "...Okay, let's go on this tour thing. I'm done spouting nonsense."

"You talk too much." The other boy suddenly said.

"Wow, that's rude," Ness said, pretending to take offense. "Talking may not lead to an enriching and fulfilling life like yours, but it does help us out. I don't know about you, but this place seems a little… gloomy. Talking like buddies can help us combat the darkness!"

"King P didn't make me to combat darkness. I was not made to make buddies with people. I am only his robot slave," The boy responded. "Now if you are done talking, we must get on with the tour."

"I will never be done talking," Ness replied. "Even as I go to my grave, I will continue yapping with this big mouth of mine. But yeah, we should probably get on with the tour. It's not like I have anything better to do."

Ness flashed a smile, now expecting the lack of response that he received. The robotic boy walked ahead of him and opened the door. He looked back when he noticed Ness hadn't followed him.

"You're slow," The boy said.

"They say to stop and smell the roses," Ness huffed. "I'm not slow; I'm just taking my time." _Although, that's what slow basically means…_ "And hey, I have a question for you. You said that you don't have a name, but what should I refer to you as? Should I just call you 'that one kid with the creepy red eye?' Or maybe 'the dude with the stupid-looking pants?'"

Despite the insult, the boy still didn't react. "Just refer me by my title, everyone else calls me that. But you sound like you prefer to call me things like Fassad does."

 _Fassad?_ Ness thought. _I have to remember that name… anyone who insults this kid is either really dumb-like me-or really powerful._

"So, what's your title?" Ness asked. "Captain? General? Loser?"

"Commander," The kid answered, still not reacting to the insult. "But you may call me whatever you wish. I do not care for such names or titles."

 _Well, that takes all of the fun out of it,_ Ness thought.

"I think that I'll call you… 'Bud.' That sounds about right, doesn't it?" _Actually, it couldn't sound more wrong, but I'm bored here._ "So let's get going, Bud. We don't have all day."

"So you wish to call me a dog's name," The kid said. "Fine. A dog is loyal and obedient to its master; it is similar to what I am. Now come along. If you get lost because you were slow I will not be held responsible."

"I meant 'Bud' as in buddy," Ness corrected, pretending to take offense. "But all right, I'll come."

Ness took off after the creepy kid. When 'Bud' saw that he was following, he nodded in satisfaction and continued down the hallway.

 _Let's see just what Porky has in store for me,_ Ness thought.


	3. Chapter 3: An Opportunity

**DarkFoxKit: Hey readers, looks like we're sticking with our updating schedule! I hope everyone realized by now that this story still exist. ^^'**

 **Connor: Yeah, I'll try to keep working on writing and editing this story, along with Ceres (college apps though DX).**

 **DarkFoxKit: Well looks like life is going to make it tough to keep going with these stories, huh? That's too bad though, a lot of people really like these stories. Shall we go ahead and answer the reviews? We're answering reviews that were on chapter 2 previously when it was still on my account.**

 **Connor: All right, let's get started!**

 **12courtney12:**

 **DarkFoxKit: I think that Mother 3 is more tragic rather than dark compared to Earthbound. Earthbound's story was… well it was just another cliche type story about the chosen one going around beating up bad guys, getting a certain number of things then take on the final boss, I think it was more about the gameplay and the player's imagination rather than the story, but I guess that's why it's so much fun to play. I'd say the final boss of Earthbound was the darkest in the series while Mother 3 was more tragic, but that's just my take on it. And yeah, Ness's character wasn't all that apparent in the game itself, so it's easy to make up a personality for him, though he's more Connor's character in this story. I like to think Ninten is a nice but also sassy kind of guy given certain descriptions of items in Earthbound Beginnings. And as for robot Claus, if he actually talks I'd imagine he would sound like he does now in the story.**

 **Connor: ...Wow, that was a lot, Fox. xD Yeah, I write most of the Ness stuff in this story and I like to stretch characters in general. I'm glad that you like it! :D**

 **A Fan:**

 **Well, there's a sizable chance that one of those guesses are right. I mean, I'm not promising anything, but those guesses cover a lot. :) And your guesses are always interesting, so please keep them up! :D**

 **Heh, I don't know about blue shells vs. smash bros either. xD I don't get mad at either, honestly. I only get mad when I feel that the game is cheating me somehow (I scream the phrase "I was supposed to have my second jump there!" during smash bros more than I care to admit).**

 **As for Ness with the grammar Nazi thing, he** ** _is_** **a grammar nazi but tried to portray it in a comedic way. The incorrect grammar honestly bugged him more than the shove, but he knows that's kind of silly so he basically satirizes myself. One of my friends does stuff like that all the time, so maybe I thought it more clear/normal than it actually is. D:**

 **DarkFoxKit: *snickers* Apparently Connor, you're well known for killing off characters in your stories. Although I mostly only remember City of Progress having a lot of character deaths in your stories. And anyway, I should point out that you calling me 'Mr' and 'his' was a bit awkward since… well… I'm a girl. I hope you get around to reading one of my stories too, but it's your choice if you want to or not.**

 **Well I had always assumed Porky just had these technologies because he can time travel and gather the best minded scientists in all of history, like Dr. Andonuts. And maybe after all those centuries of living, he's bound to understand these things more than an average human could ever hope to comprehend in their lifetime.**

 **adricarra:**

 **Connor: Hey, don't worry about not commenting much. It was the first chapter, after all. :) I take credit for most of Ness' character (I write most of Ness' stuff and Fox writes most of Claus' stuff). Yeah, it is cool to see how people choose different personalities for Ness, although… maybe it's just me, but I feel like most of them are pretty similar (including this one). And I also take credit for the Mario Kart joke. :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah, the Mario Kart joke came out of nowhere, but it was funny. XD And yeah, Connor does Ness and I did Claus, I don't know why but I like doing characters when they seem emotionless and the other is trying to get them to react to anything. And poor Claus is probably already used to being treated like a dog, although I think Boney got better treatment than he did.**

 **CalmTheHyreigon:**

 **Everyone seems to love the Mario Kart joke. ^^' And I'm happy to know the chapter made you happy and horrified. :3**

 **Phoesong:**

 **Thank you for the giant review then. :)**

 **Technically you had read a few co-authored fic before. And I can't speak for how Connor feels about it, but I think it's a lot of fun having someone to react to while doing the characters and the story, it makes it feel more alive in my opinion.**

 **Stories that make you question what happens next are the best ones. :3**

 **I think just about everyone is wondering how Ninten traveled into Lucas's timeline, but of course we won't answer that until later in the story. As for the Lucas comment… I'll let Connor answer that.**

 **Connor: Well, Lucas is pretty happy to have someone who he can connect to. You'll see that just like me, he really isn't jolly. xD And co-writing is a lot of fun. There isn't that much haggling because I think that both Fox and I are trying not to be too overbearing, which helps. :) The hardest part is not being able to plan out conversations beforehand, though. Sometimes one of us makes a comment and it goes… nowhere. xD**

 **Yep, Ness knows that Porky=Pokey (it would be kinda nice if they could have one name for him, huh?). And Fox does pretty much all of Claus' description/dialogue, so she gets the credit for that. And trust me, you sound the exact opposite of grumpy. :) And if you think that your review is critical… well, just look at mine. xD**

 **crabbyTomato:**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah, we did leave a warning before that I may have to delete it, but we didn't want to get rid of the story so we decided to put it on Connor's account so you guys can still read and enjoy it. :)**

 **Yeah, Porky's probably one of the most hated characters in video games for good reasons, though I myself feel sorry for him more than anything. Porky only turned out the way he did in Mother 3 because of how he was raised by his abusive parents and eventually Giygas corrupted him beyond reasoning.**

 **I don't think Claus really cares about Ness's attitude, at least not at the moment, to him this is just an assignment he has to do and nothing more. You can't exactly anger someone who doesn't feel.**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:**

 **Connor: Yep, that's the schedule! I take credit for Ness and the Mario Kart joke. :) Well, maybe it was your subconscious questions that prompted us to write this story. ;) Are you a psion or something? xD And yeah, Claus is one of those kinds of characters… although sometimes, I just get annoyed at him in fics.**

 **DarkFoxKit: That's a scary thought, someone from the ShadowClan having psychic powers on us? O_O' And this is a minor thing, but I still have trouble trying to decide what to call Porky, I mean his name was Pokey in Earthbound, right? ^^' Yeah, I know his name is Porky in Japan and Pokey was most likely a translation error, but it's still there and something that should be addressed.**

 **Anyways, thank you for your review here and Rebuild and Reborn, it's much appreciated. :D**

* * *

Ninten looked around the bakery while Lucas bought a dozen fresh eggs. He noticed not a lot of people: there was a lady at the cash register, a young girl assisting her, and a boy about their age helping out on the other side.

"That'll be about 30 DP total, Lucas," The lady said after ringing up the eggs.

"All right," Lucas replied, although not without cringing first. Did he struggle financially? "Here you go."

"Thank you," The lady said as she took the coins with a dragon's head on one side and a dragon's tail on the other. This was the first time Ninten had seen a Dragon Point. "You know, Lucas… it might be easier if you could get a job to earn more DP. Just selling sheep wool isn't going to last you through the winter."

Lucas sighed, his eyes seeming to age decades. "I know. I just don't want to go to the factory… but I guess it's inevitable, isn't it? It _would_ be nice not to feel like I have to worry so much about money. Sometimes, I wish that father would take care of my family's finances, but he just doesn't care enough to try. I suppose that I envy that about him, in a twisted way."

"Well… maybe you could help out around here," the lady offered. "Fuel and Angie are great workers, but I could always use the extra hand and you could use the extra money."

Lucas blinked.

"I… er… that sounds great!" A smile broke out on his face, innocence shining through. "It will be fun working with Fuel as well."

Lucas sighed in relief, his eyes widening in joy.

"Oh, and what about this young man?" she asked, looking at Ninten.

Ninten gave a small wave and said: "I'm uh… new here. Lucas is just showing me around."

"Well it's nice to meet you. My name is Caroline, and that's my daughter Angie over there," The lady introduced, gesturing to the young girl behind her.

"My name's Ninten. it's very nice to meet you too. I'm happy to hear you're giving Lucas a chance to help out," Ninten finished with a smile.

"Lucas is a sweet boy, and if he's struggling I want to try to help him," Caroline replied with a sweet smile. "You can help out too if you'd like. Both of you can start tomorrow."

Lucas blushed, although Ninten wasn't sure if it was because of the compliment or the fact that he struggled with money.

"Oh, and that's Fuel!" Lucas exclaimed, pointing to a brown spiky-haired boy who was fiddling with an oven. "He's one of my friends!"

The brown haired boy looked up when he heard his name. "Oh, Lucas! What've you been up to? Hey, is this a new friend of yours?"

"Um… hello," Ninten said as he held out his hand. "I'm Ninten. It's nice to meet one of Lucas's friends."

"Just give me a sec here," Fuel said, bending down and pushing some buttons on the oven. He turned and walked up to Ninten, springing with each step that he took. He shook Ninten's hand vigorously, leaving it slightly numb.

"Fuel tends to get overexcited sometimes," Lucas said with a reserved smile. "It's one of the things that you have to live with. I mean, better overexcited than underexcited, right?"

"Oh, did I do something wrong?" Fuel asked, concern written plainly on his face.

Ninten reeled from that vigorous handshake before shaking his head. "You have a _really_ strong arm…" he smiled as he rubbed his shoulder a bit.

"Oops," Fuel said to himself, his eyes widening in embarrassment. "Sorry!"

Lucas shook his head, but he too couldn't keep a smile from coming to his face.

"Fuel, how many times does someone need to tell you that before you learn?" he asked.

Fuel rolled his eyes. "Sorry, Lucas. Not everyone can be perfect like you."

Ninten fought to keep from laughing at that.

Lucas blushed, provoking a victorious smile from Fuel. He had clearly anticipated that reaction.

"Well now… this should an interesting place to work in," Ninten chuckled as he put his arms around the two boys' shoulder. "But for now why don't we have some lunch, Lucas? I'm starving!"

"Yeah, yeah," Lucas replied, already dropping his polite tone. "I'm on it. Making omelets takes time."

"You two could eat here," Fuel suggested, looking up to Caroline. "I think that the boss will throw some free food at you because you're new," he finished, pointing to Ninten.

"The way that you say it makes it seem like there's no charity in offering free food," Lucas replied, shaking his head.

"Still… I wouldn't argue with a free meal," Ninten said with a smile.

Fuel looked up to Caroline.

"Well, boss?" he asked. "Did I guess right, or do I not know you at all?"

Caroline just chuckled at Fuel. "Tell you what; why don't you ask Angie? I have to make a delivery."

The young girl walked out from behind the counter and said, "Really Fuel? You invite _more_ of your friends over to mooch off of us?"

"Now that's just rude, Angie." Fuel replied, wagging a finger.

"And that's just hypocritical, Fuel." Lucas teased.

Ninten felt a little self conscious at that. The last thing he wanted was to cause trouble. "W-well I mean you don't have to… I mean I'd pay for it once I actually have the money."

Angie gave a sigh before she said, "I'll let it slide this one time. But only one loaf of bread this time. Fuel took an entire basketful when he started working here." She gave Fuel a glare.

" _That_ was for a good cause," Fuel huffed. "I'm telling you, that mouse was _hungry._ "

"Wait, you took an entire basket of the bakery's bread to a mouse?" Lucas asked, a grin breaking out onto his face. "Why did I never hear about this before?"

For some reason, Ninten experienced annoyance at hearing the word 'mouse'. He scratched his head, not knowing why he felt that way. At least a mouse was normal compared to those weird creatures he saw in the forest.

"The poor guy lived in our house and didn't have anywhere to go once it burned down," Fuel explained in a sentimental tone. "I just _had_ to take care of him."

"It's a mouse, Fuel," Lucas replied, shaking his head. "They can fend for themselves."

"They're also everywhere," Ninten suddenly said. "You take one step and the next thing you know your foot's been bitten! Do you know how strong those teeth are? Your shoes aren't strong enough to protect you from it!"

The other three looked at him, causing him to blush from embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry… I-I don't even know where that came from." He hid his flushed face with his hat.

"Don't feel bad!" Lucas smiled and patted Ninten's back. "We all have moments like that, _especially_ Fuel."

Fuel rolled his eyes.

"Everything always has to be my fault around here." he complained.

"Maybe people wouldn't blame you as much if you started taking some responsibility." Lucas countered with a smirk.

"I agree with Lucas here," Angie said in a huff. "You gotta stop sneaking bread out of here if you hope to keep your job."

"Okay, princess," Fuel replied. "Now if you'll _excuse me,_ I have to get back to work. Enjoy the measly scraps that Princess Angie tossed your way, Lucas and Ninten!"

He walked back over to the oven, even though it didn't look like he was doing anything important.

"Do you think that he just did that to annoy you, Angie?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know, but if he did... I'm going to let him have it," She hissed. "Now you better go; we're approaching the busy hour."

"I guess we'll see you tomorrow then." Ninten said after putting his hat back on straight. "Can't wait to start working here and make my own DP."

"See?" Fuel spoke up. "Even the new kid has a sense of humor, Angie! 'Can't wait to start working?' Hah!"

Angie responded by throwing an empty basket at Fuel's face. "Ow! Is it too much to ask you to act like a decent human being, Anj? How would you like it if someone threw a large object at _your_ face?"

"Whoa, she can be pretty violent." Ninten sweatdropped.

"Yeah," Lucas whispered, "As much as I feel bad for Fuel, we should probably clear out of here."

The two of them exited the bakery just as a familiar young man with a straw hat and a young woman beside him entered. Ninten remembered that young man from when he was asking where he lived.

"Lucas, do you know those two?" Ninten asked curiously.

"They're Abbey and Abbot… I know that they're always glued to their happy boxes," Lucas muttered bitterly. "And Abbot holds a grudge against my father, but I don't really blame him for that."

As they were walking back to Lucas's house, Ninten looked at the center of town. That strange man who talked to him about the happy boxes was still there, yapping away. "Lucas… now that you mentioned it… what exactly are happy boxes?"

"They're these funny little boxes with screens on them," Lucas answered. "Apparently, you can activate them and they show images. These images can move and even make noise. I've heard that there are different 'shows' that display different moving pictures to form entire stories. Pretty much everyone in Tazmily has one."

"Um…" Ninten scratched his head. "That kinda sounds like television to me, not a 'happy box'. I'm pretty sure it was called television where I'm from… wherever that is."

"Huh," Lucas said, furrowing his eyebrows in thought. "So your town already had these things before they came to Tazmily… maybe you live in New Pork City."

"Maybe… but I doubt it. That name sounds new to me," Ninten said with a shrug. "And kinda stupid. It sounds like a place that pigs would live in."

"Doesn't it?" Lucas asked, chuckling to himself. "And as for pigs living there… you're closer to the truth than you probably think. New Pork City provides a base of operations for the pigmasks, from what I've heard."

"Um… pigmask…?" Ninten blinked. "What are those? And who's that guy who's been talking all day anyways?" He felt his face heating up. "Err… s-sorry for asking so many questions."

"It's no problem at all!" Lucas replied hastily. "Really, I enjoy having someone to talk with. I'm surprised that you haven't seen a pigmask yet. They're crawling all over this place. You'll know one when you see them. As for Fassad…" Lucas' expression turned sour. "He spends all day trying to drain the life out of Tazmily."

By the time Lucas finished talking, they had reached his house and Lucas set the eggs on the table and began washing his hands. Ninten thought about what Lucas said.

"His name is 'Fassad'? That's a very odd name. But he seemed so nice and jolly… he didn't seem to be the kind of guy who would suck the life out of people," The scarf wearing boy said as he tilted his head.

"He can only do his job _because_ he acts so jolly," Lucas muttered. "We don't fear what is friendly. The people of Tazmily accept him and relax, not realizing just what he's doing until it's too late."

Ninten looked out the window as he listened to what Lucas said. The way the boy put it made it sound like he doesn't spend a lot of time with people, at least not interacting with them. Before Ninten could speak up, he heard a loud bark outside.

Lucas opened the door, revealing a brown dog that appeared to be barking at something.

"Hey, Boney!" Lucas exclaimed, joy lighting up in his eyes. "What's new?"

The dog named Boney gave a small whine, looking at the stranger in his house.

Ninten blinked before he realized that the dog must be worried for Lucas since he's a scent the dog didn't recognize. "I guess he's just surprised to see me here, Lucas." Not that he could tell how he knew that; did he own a dog before?

"I gathered that," Lucas replied with a smirk. "It's okay, Boney. He's a friend. And yes, I _do_ choose my friends carefully, unlike the rest of this town."

Boney barked something at Lucas and the boy nodded. Ninten raised an eyebrow at that. _If I didn't know any better, I'd say Lucas could actually understand what that dog is saying._

"I guess Boney wants to sniff you for some reason," Lucas told Ninten. "Maybe he's still wary or something."

"Uh…" Ninten felt a little uneasy about that. He felt like he'd been attacked by multiple brown dogs in his life, and maybe he had been for all he knew. "... Sure… just as long as he doesn't bite me." _I'm not a bad person, am I? Why would a dog attack me?_

Lucas nodded and turned to Boney.

"No biting, okay?" he told the dog. "We don't want a repeat incident of that time when… nah, I'm just teasing, Ninten. Boney doesn't bite humans. At least, not that I know of."

"Greeeeat." Ninten grumbled. "We have a joker."

"I blame Fuel," Lucas replied with a smile. "He's a bad influence on me."

The dog named Boney walked over to Ninten and began sniffing him. After about a minute, he gave a small whine. _"You have this urban smell, but I also smell a lot of… chemicals and wood creature smell… and a hint of metal. Have you been going on some big epic journey or something?"_

Upon hearing this, Ninten's eyes went wide before he jumped back in shock. "WAH!? L-Lucas! Did your dog just TALK!?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Lucas replied like it was no big deal. "Ooh, maybe you _did_ go on some epic journey! After all, it would explain how you got _here_ of all places."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ninten was having trouble wrapping his mind around this. "Now I may have lost my memory, but I'm pretty sure animals do NOT talk! At least not to people!"

"Really?" Lucas asked. "Animals have talked to me for as long as I can remember. I guess we're either druids, or we're both insane."

"..." Ninten sat down on a chair and lowered his forehead to the table. "Great… I AM in an alien world where creatures are not what they should be and animals _talk_."

Lucas looked at Ninten and his face turned downcast.

"I know how you feel," he whispered. "You feel like nothing's the same and nothing ever _will be_ the same ever again. That makes you feel alone… that makes you feel small. And when you feel small, you feel helpless. It's like there's some sort of monster waiting for you in the shadows, but you don't have the power to run away." Lucas shook his head. Soon, his expression lit back up. "But hey, let's make the best out of this, am I right?"

Ninten raised his head to look at him and said, "Do you write poetry Lucas? Because you just sounded kinda like a poet right there."

Boney gave what Ninten interpreted as a snicker. _"Nah, Lucas is just depressing. Can ya blame him? He's basically living by himself nowadays."_

Ninten rubbed his forehead when he heard the dog talking to him again. "I am NOT going to get used to this!"

Lucas grinned. "Well, you're going to have a long stay if you get surprised every time." He picked up the eggs. "I'm going to start on the omelets, okay?"

"Hmm… maybe you could show me how to cook too," Ninten suggested. "I'd like to help out while I stay here."

"I've never tried to teach cooking before, but I'll try!" Lucas said. "Let's go outside. I need to set up a fire so that I can cook the eggs."

"Outside? Couldn't you just do that in the kitchen?" Ninten asked before realizing there weren't any stoves here. "... Ooooh… riiiiiight… Okay, outside it is."

* * *

Later that night, Ninten looked out the window, finding only darkness. The moon didn't present itself and the stars shone dimly. Crickets chirped outside and Boney settled into his doghouse to turn in for the night.

Ninten wasn't sure what to wear tonight since the only clothes he had were the ones he was currently wearing. He was cleaning the dishes with Lucas. "Those were some really delicious omelets, Lucas. I'm glad I was able to learn from you. Too bad I almost burned the house down though…"

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time that the house caught on fire," Lucas replied with a wink. "You did pretty well, assuming that this was your first time." He yawned, looking out the window. "It looks like my father isn't coming home tonight. I'm actually glad. I don't want to deal with him right now, especially in front of you. Does that make me a bad person?"

"No, of course not. It's natural for kids to have issues with their fathers, especially if they're not always going to be around," Ninten said softly as if he was talking from experience. "I mean I don't know your dad, but I'm sure he wouldn't do this if your mother and brother were still here."

Lucas nodded but sighed. "That's what everyone says. They say: 'oh, he's having a rough time. He loves you but he just doesn't show it, Lucas.' Their words ring true, but my father's actions still make me bitter. I mean yeah, he must have been crushed by losing Mother and Claus, but so was I! It's hard for me to feel sympathy for him when I'm doing better than he is at age 12."

"People say things, but that doesn't always make it better." Ninten frowned as he began drying the dishes with a clean towel. "The best thing you can do is endure or talk to him about it. If he won't listen then all you can do is wait and see what happens. But I'm guessing you've already done that. I wish I could help you Lucas… I don't want to see you being torn up about your dad."

Lucas turned away. After about a minute, he faced Ninten again. A single tear ran down each cheek.

"Thank you, Ninten," he whispered. "Thank you… the fact that you worry about me means so much. Most people don't understand how _hard_ it is to live on your own when your friends can rely on their parents…. thank you, Ninten."

Ninten couldn't help but give a smile to the boy. "Well… we're kind of in the same boat right now, so yeah, I understand. Heck, for all I know maybe I've lived alone all my life and maybe that's why nobody knows about me."

Lucas nodded, a radiant smile breaking out onto his face. "We were drawn together because we had nobody, but now we don't have to feel so alone. Even now, I know that I won't get any nightmares tonight. Having someone who truly understands you is a necessity in life… and yet there are so many people who live alone. That makes me so sad, Ninten. We know how it feels to have nobody. We suffer, we comprend, we empathize. In that way, our weaknesses can become our strengths. Because we _understand_ people, Ninten. We just have to hope that we can use that to make a difference."

"Wow… you really can be depressing." Ninten gave a small chuckle. "But I hear ya. There are always going to be people out there who are alone, Lucas, but it's up to them to make things better. All we can do is stick together and try to make the most of what we have."

Lucas gave a nod. "Yeah, and I like to believe things can still get better. Well... *yawn* Good night, Ninten. I think that I'm going to go to sleep."

Ninten put up the last of the dishes on the counter before turning to Lucas, seeing him putting on his pajamas. "Uh… Lucas…? I hate to be a nag, but I don't have anything else to wear…"

"Oh!" Lucas exclaimed, his eyes snapping wide open. "Of course you don't! My bad! Hm… oh, I know! You can take Claus' clothes. I can show you where they are."

Lucas walked over to a wardrobe and flung the doors open. "Everything on the left belonged to Claus. You can take all of it. I don't think that he'll come home anytime soon…"

Ninten looked at the clothes before sweatdropping. "Uhhh… This is all very nice Lucas, but uh… how old was Claus when he went missing? These look a little…" he pulled out a shirt and draped it over himself, it was only half his size. "... small."

Lucas blinked before blushing a bit. "Oh, my bad again! He was only ten. I thought that they would fit you because I remember him being so big, but I guess clothes for a big ten year old are still a bit small for you. Um…"

"Wow, I'm guessing he's your older brother?" Ninten chuckled.

"... Kind of." Lucas twiddled his fingers. "I'm not sure if we have anything in your size…"

"It's okay Lucas. I think I'm used to sleeping in these clothes." Ninten suddenly said. "I'll just have to wash them later and buy new ones with the DP I earn working at the bakery."

Lucas nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds like a plan! Now… is there anything else that I'm forgetting?"

"Nah, I think I'm good." Ninten said. "So I guess we both sleep in the same bed or do you want me to take the bigger one? I could always just sleep on the floor if it's too much trouble."

Lucas laughed. "No, you won't have to sleep on the floor. I'm just wondering if I should leave the bigger bed open in case dad decides to waltz in at midnight. Hmm… maybe we could share the bigger bed and leave my father the small one in case he comes back? I don't think that he'll mind too much."

"Alright, if you say so. I hope I don't cause trouble for you and your dad." Ninten said as he and Lucas crawled into the big bed. It was very roomy. "Good night, Lucas."

"Good night, Ninten." Lucas said with a smile on his face as the two fell fast asleep after the long day.


	4. Chapter 4: Broken

**DarkFoxKit: Yup, it's that time of day again, the time to update a new chapter for Time Distorter!**

 **Connor: Yep, and I feel like this is where my writing peaks in this story. So if you don't like this chapter… the back button is up and to the left. ;)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Hey, I'm sure they'll like it, if they've read this far I don't see why they wouldn't. ^^' But I also had some fun with this chapter too.**

 **Connor: Yeah, I suppose… but either way, I'm not here to infect you guys with my pessimism. :) Do you have anything else to say, Fox?**

 **DarkFoxKit: Hmm… oh yeah; Super Smash Bros is also another game that could infuriate you. c: Let's get on with the reviews, shall we?**

 **Connor: Wait, do you mean "you" as a general person or me specifically? Just because I get salty about using items...**

 **DarkFoxKit: It's pretty obvious what I mean, but if you need an answer definitely the former.**

 **Connor: ...Well, things aren't as obvious when slapped onto paper. Without tone, implications tend to fade away like a summer mist. But hey, let's answer those reviews! :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: And this is why sarcasm don't work on paper people!**

 **12courtney12:**

 **Connor: Yep; POVs will switch back and forth, at least for a while. And thanks! :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: It's a common way to switch POVs, but it works. And glad you liked the chapter's heart warming and funni...ness… -_-' I can't believe I said that.**

 **The-Great-Me-sama:**

 **Connor: Shh… don't tell that to Ninten and Lucas or you'll make them super embarrassed. ;) And yep, that's the right schedule… unless Fox decides to change Rebuild or Reborn for whatever reason.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Lucas and Ninten's friendship really is adorable isn't it? :) And I used to don't take schedules with my own stories, but if I have a lot of chapters in reserve I figured a weekly update is good, not too slow, not too fast, it's just right. Unless I have writer's block or something. ^^'**

 **A Fan:**

 **Connor: Well, that's certainly all true. Things are looking pretty rough… but hey, most good conflicts cause that. :) Huh, it's kind of funny, because at the point in the story that we're writing, I feel that the bad guys aren't powerful enough. And thanks. :) And Fox here made the personalities of most of the Mother 3 townspeople. They're probably more sympathetic because Ninten's around.**

 **DarkFoxKit: That and I'd like to think that in the three year time gap, the townspeople were mostly brainwashed by then. Here it's only been two years instead of three, so perhaps the brainwashing hasn't gotten that strong in them yet. As for your questions, in order; It's hard to say if Flint will play a larger role later on since we haven't thought of that yet. ^^'  
The Magypsies do actually play a role later on.**

 **We're not saying anything about who the main villain could or could not be. ;)**

 **Ah… I think you guys just like leaving us long reviews in general. ^^' Anyways, thank you for your questions and patronage.**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** **Yay, seventh reviewer. :D**

 **It's okay, sometimes I get pretty lazy to review too. ^^' At least you did review in the end.**

 **Yeah, Lucas and Ninten need to make a living somehow, right? Of course Tazmily didn't used to need money… no wonder Lucas is so bitter. And yeah, Flint really does spend all his time looking for a lost son rather than spending time with the son who is still here.**

 **You enjoyed Fuel and Angie's personalities? Heh… Connor made Fuel like that, I had Angie up the sass because she just seemed that way to me in the game.**

 **Well at least you remembered it's multi-pov. :)**

 **Yeah, I can imagine it being awkward for Ninten with Lucas offering him Claus's old clothes. And my own theory for why Lucas did so was because he wanted make sure Ninten was comfortable and he's very nice, but I think I'll let Connor answer that one.**

 **As for why Ninten lost his memory and Ness didn't… well… that's something that'll be revealed later so no answering that one due to spoilers. :P**

 **Connor: Long explanation for Lucas being so eager about giving Ninten Claus' clothes incoming: Lucas was distraught upon losing his twin brother, but he didn't want to end up like Flint. As you can see, he's kinda spiteful and doesn't want to obsess over looking for Claus. So instead, he tries to find someone to fill the void that Claus left, and Ninten fills perfectly. Handing over Claus' clothes is a result of Lucas subconsciously wanting his brother back, and Ninten is the next best thing. This is all subconscious, btw.**

 **Thanks. :) Yep, Ness is probably my best character in this story (which isn't saying a whole lot). Your mom's phone corrects Ness to Nesscas? That's hilarious. xD Yeah, psionics aren't real, sadly. D: PK cats would be pretty cool, though. I just realized… psions can't really summon things. I mean, druids summon animals, dark clerics summon undead, wizards summon whatever the heck they want, but psions don't get anything. D:**

 **I can understand why they wanted it to be Pokey. I probably would have done something similar if I were translating it tbh. The name "Porky" clearly references his weight in a derogatory way, which isn't good and would offend many Americans (you know how touchy we can get about pretty much anything).**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah, that might be another reason why his name is Pokey in the official English translation. ^^'**

 **Flun:** **Well try not to procrastinate too much then. :P**

 **Yeah, Lucas and Flint aren't exactly on the best of terms right now, but at least Lucas knows not to get too bitter about it… right? Gotta feel sorry for the boy though. And yeah, the game was good with the story, but it did leave a lot of holes. I kinda wish they expanded on his and Lucas's relationship after Hinawa's death and Claus's disappearance.**

 **Yeah, Fuel and Angie are definitely butting heads with each other. ^^' But it is pretty entertaining, and the two care about the other. And that's really the beauty of fanfics as you say, it lets us gives more personalities to the lesser characters in the game.**

 **Well with Ninten's memory loss, he has nobody else to turn to, and Lucas has been the first one to show him kindness and take care of him, so naturally they'll be closer to each other over time. :3 And as you said, it's best to just wait for future chapters to answer that question about their psionic.**

 **Connor: Tbh, Boney's not going to be all that important in the story (according to plan, at least). :( With Ninten in tow, we were (or at least I was) worried that there would be too many characters and the story would end up being too convoluted (which is funny because Ceres has so many important characters xD).**

 **Yep! And just like Yin and Yang, the darkness has a clear bit of light shining through and the light shrouds a piece of darkness. :) Heh, well we win when we receive long comments, so I fully support your competition. ;)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Same here, we love long reviews! :D**

* * *

"I've told you everything you needed to know about the ranks, factories, and Master Porky himself. Do you have any questions?" The young commander asked Ness in an emotionless tone.

"Yeah, you never told something about Porky that's _very_ important," Ness answered seriously. "How in the world does he use the bathroom in that mech of his?"

"Master Porky's body has reached a certain point where his biological function no longer needs such things," The boy answered. "I could go into deeper details, but I would imagine you'd rather not hear about it."

 _Wow, I wasn't actually expecting an explanation there,_ Ness thought.

"Yeah, you're right… but how did you know what I want to hear about?" Ness asked. "After all, don't you do and know nothing else besides serving the glorious and definitely not evil King Porky?"

"It is what I do, but it's not my only knowledge. I've existed for two years and I've observed human behavior among the Pigmasks," The boy answered.

"But why?" Ness asked. "You were synthesized. Why would Porky give those abilities to you upon creation…? Err, no offense or anything."

"I don't claim to understand everything about the mindsets of the scientists that created me. I just know what I am," The boy answered, still showing no emotion.

 _I just don't understand!_ Ness thought. _Why not make a robot? That's so much easier than conjuring a human slave out of thin air!_

"All right, Bud," Ness said, a smile concealing all of his frustration. "I should probably check back in with Porky. See you later, alright?"

"Before you go back to Master Porky- a.k.a. King P- a little review is necessary with all new recruitments. Do you remember the ranking system?" The boy asked.

 _Remember?_ Ness thought. _That implies that I learned it in the first place._

"Um… no," Ness replied, trying to care enough to act embarrassed. "Would you please remind me, Bud?"

"I told you during the tour. Were you not listening?" The boy said with a small frown on his usually emotionless face.

"What happens if I say yes?" Ness asked hesitantly.

"Usually Master Porky would punish those who don't get it the first time," The boy answered, "But I will remind you. There are five rankings among the Pigmask army: pink, blue, green, white and black. Pink is the lowest rank and holds no title other than soldier. Blue is the captain rank, green is the major rank, white is the colonel rank and black is the highest rank in the army; commander. Master Porky is our master, so nobody ever ranks higher than him. Do you understand now?"

"Yes." _And I'll probably forget it within an hour, but he doesn't need to know that._ "Is there anything else that you want to tell me?"

"Is there anything else you need to know?" The boy simply asked back.

"Uh… nothing for now," Ness answered. "I guess I'll go back to Porky now. See ya, Bud!"

"Very well. You do remember the way back to his throne room, do you?" Bud asked him.

"Yep. It's marked by all of that lovely grey that stands out so well compared to the rest of this grey base. Truly, I must thank the person who came up with these innovative color choices. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be off. And if you won't excuse me, then I still must be off. Goodbye, Bud."

"You still talk too much," The boy said before turning around and walking away. "I will retire to my room until I am needed again."

" _Someone_ has to do the talking, and it sure as heck isn't going to be him," Ness muttered as he walked back to Porky's room.

Ness made it back to Porky's throne room with ease. Maybe he shouldn't have felt proud of himself for finding a room, but he sure did. Porky was sitting there in his spider mech. At first, he thought that Porky was sleeping.

"Ness," Porky rasped, startling him. "Do you know why I had you tour the base?"

"To show me around?" Ness asked with an innocent smile. Dropping the look, "How am I supposed to know, Porky? Does it look like I have psychic powers or something?" _Wait…_ "Does it look like I have psychic powers readily available?" he revised.

"I wanted to introduce you to the commander," Porky said, ignoring Ness' attitude. "He was supposed to scare you."

"Well, he didn't!" Ness exclaimed triumphantly.

"That's because you're too dumb to get scared," Porky rasped. "Didn't you notice how he acted?"

"All emotionless and stuff," Ness answered. "Yeah, I'm not that dumb."

"Did you ever wonder _why_ he acted that way?" Porky asked. "You didn't, did you?"

 _I totally did!_ Ness shouted in his head.

"It doesn't make sense…" Ness muttered. "Why synthesize a human when you can make a robot instead?"

"Why indeed?" Porky asked.

Something about his voice tipped Ness off.

"You… _didn't_ synthesize him, did you?"

"No, I didn't."

"You… did you… _brainwash_ him?" Ness asked, getting an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Ah," Porky replied. "So finally you understand. I could take someone as happy and stupid as you and throw them into the brainwasher and BAM! They come out as a robot."

"No... " Ness whispered, a cold, clammy feeling irritating his skin.

"And then what happens when I send you back to your family in your own time?" Porky asked.

Ness gulped. _Mother… Tracy…_ they would be crushed to see him act like the commander.

"So you see what the stakes are," Porky rasped.

 _He lured me into that trap!_ Ness thought. _He knew how horrifying it would seem if I figured out the brainwashing on my own!_

"Yes," Ness said as emotionlessly as the commander. "I understand."

"So now that you know what you're in for, will I need to do the same to you or will you be as loyal as my slave?" Porky wheezed as he asked the boy.

"Will you need to?" Ness asked, unable to bite down his retort. "I don't know whether or not you will need to. That's up to you. After all, _you're_ the one who blocked off my psychic powers, so of course I can't read your thoughts!"

"Of course, but that's to make sure you don't get any bright ideas." Porky said while rasping. "Now that collar won't come off until you've proven yourself loyal to me. In which case you'll have to earn your psychic powers back one by one, as if you were re-learning them."

 _I think he missed the point,_ Ness thought, but secretly felt glad that Porky didn't catch onto his sassy intentions.

"I understand," Ness said evenly. "You make it crystal-clear what my situation is. So… what do you want me to do?"

"First of all…" Porky paused to cough a bit. "You will need to be initiated into the army. Because we were once friends and I know how strong you can be it's only fair if you begin your career at a high rank."

 _I still think of you as a friend, even while you were trying to kill me as I faced Giygas,_ Ness thought. _You had nobody. You needed somebody. I just wish that I could have been more._

But how could he say that? Would Porky care or even listen? Ness didn't know the answer to those questions, so he simply nodded and awaited further explanation.

"You will be a commander rank," Porky said, wheezing a bit. "You'll mostly be side-by-side with my little robot monster so he can keep an eye on you and make sure you don't try something funny. Unlike you, Ness, he can still use his PSI."

Ness barely managed to hide his surprise. _Bud can use PSI? I suppose that makes sense, as Porky wouldn't bother to brainwash him if he didn't have powerful abilities. So why didn't he brainwash me?_

 _Is it possible that he still has a conscience and it's just been buried by his long, painful years?_

"All right," Ness said. "I wouldn't want you to doubt me, anyways."

"That's an attitude I like." Porky wheezed a bit. "Now as for your initiation… I will have Fassad handle that." He pushed a few buttons in his mech. "He will be with you in an hour or two at the most. And by 'initiation' I mean he'll just give you your uniform and a place where you stay in."

Ness nodded. What else was there to say?

"Now go wait somewhere outside, you should meet a fat weird looking man soon." Porky said.

Ness turned to walk away. At the last second, he turned back.

"You're just as mechanical as the commander," Ness whispered. "I don't think you'll ever understand how _sad_ that is. Goodbye, Porky. I think that you died a long time ago."

Ness walked away, not bothering to look back. Before long, he found his way outside. Under his mild face, Ness felt fear, rage, and pity clash in a fierce melee that nearly brought his to his knees.

 _I just have to hold on,_ Ness thought. _For mom and Tracy._

He shook his head. He couldn't do it!

 _I just have to wait here. That shouldn't be hard, right?_

Before too long, a weird looking chubby peddler-like man came into the hallway, sounded like he was complaining about something. "Can't believe I have to waste time talking to another kid!" He stopped upon glancing at Ness. "... Haven't I met you before?"

Ness raised an eyebrow.

"Not unless I have amnesia or something," he answered. "I think that I would remember seeing someone like _you_."

"Weren't you that kid I saw in Tazmily Village? You look an awful lot like him," The peddler man said, studying Ness's face.

"Never heard of Tazmily," Ness said. "I come from Onett."

"Onett? That place doesn't exist," The peddler said. "There's nothing but this island. Anyways, I was summoned to talk to the new recruit… I'm assuming it's you, boy?"

 _Nothing but an island?_ Ness thought. _This person doesn't know about Eagleland? How odd…_

"Yep, that would be me," Ness answered. "One insufferable teenage kid presenting himself right here, sir!"

"You seem to have spirit, kid. We're going to have to break that soon," The peddler grumbled. "The name is Fassad, you will only refer to me as Fassad, no nicknames of any kind of your own. I know that last kid was a big pain in the behind until we finally broke him."

"Break me?" Ness asked, trying to hide his terror. "Are you sadistic or something? Why not… accept my charms for what they are?" Ness shot him an insufferable smile.

"Great, you even joke around like he did." Fassad growled irritably. "You just go to this room number and change out of those clothes. You'll hear from King P soon about your first day on the job, and you better do it or you'll end up like that last boy." He shoved Ness a piece of paper with numbers on it.

 _He must mean Bud,_ Ness thought. _I guess he joked around like I did? But now he's empty inside. That's so sad… I won't end up like him! Please don't let me end up like him…_

"Now just find the corresponding number on the door with that paper and don't be a pain." Fassad said. "Now, I had better get back to the village."

"All right," Ness answered, but in his mind he thought, _this guy won't monitor me. Maybe I should have another chat with Bud. Maybe there's still something inside of him, something that I can work with._

So instead of heading off to his room like a good little kid, Ness hiked all of the way back to the commander's room. He opened the door to find the kid sitting there, looking rather comatose.

"Hey, you alive?" Ness asked jovially.

The robotic-like kid looked over at him and said, "Did Master Porky send you here again?"

"Nope, but Fassad said that I could retire for the night. At least, that's what I assumed that he meant. So… I decided that since we're going to be spending a lot of time together, we should take the time to bond with each other some more. You know, all of that cheesy 'power of friendship' stuff?"

"That means nothing to me. I exist only to follow orders and lead the army the way Master Porky wants me to. Nothing more, nothing less," The boy answered.

"But don't you think that you could follow those orders _better_ if we had some team chemistry going on?" Ness asked.

The boy was staring blankly at Ness. "... I'm afraid I don't compute with what you just said."

"You know, we're supposed to work together, right?" Ness asked. "I think that we could work better with each other if both of us actually cared about the other person."

"I was not built to feel emotion, so the capacity for me to care for someone is nonexistent. And what do you mean by 'work together?' Usually soldiers just work under me unless Master Porky says otherwise."

"Well," Ness said, pretending to act proud. "I'm a commander now, so we're equals. Sort of."

"Oh. I was not aware you've been upgraded into the commander rank. But if it's what Master Porky wishes, then I will not protest against it," Bud said, still with no emotion. "Was there anything else he said that I need to be informed of?"

"Nope," Ness lied, remembering how Porky told Bud to keep an eye on him. "Not that I remember. So I was thinking that we should get a little team bonding going on here. You know, we need to be coordinated in our actions, and that works better if we like each other."

"You were lying when you said you didn't remember," Bud suddenly said. "What else did he say?"

 _Hm… how did he know?_ Ness wondered. He had always been an exceptionally good liar. He remembered fondly how he had conditioned Tracy not to trust him after pulling pranks on her over and over again.

"What makes you think that I'm lying?" Ness asked. "Just because I'm a little weasel doesn't mean that _everything_ that comes out of this unfiltered mouth of mine is a downright lie! I'm hurt that we can't trust each other, Bud!"

Ness turned away, sniffling as he pretended to cry.

"I was made to be able to tell when a person lies," The boy said simply, ignoring Ness' theatrics. "I have developed my PSI to detect a person's lie easily. You can't hide Master Porky's orders from me."

 _Yes I can,_ Ness thought. _I just have to be more discreet about it. Hm… let's see if Bud's lie detection can also detect misleading but technically true statements._

"Sorry," Ness said. "I didn't think that that his other order was as important." That was true, but it wasn't why Ness hid the information. "Porky also told me that he would have you monitor me. I think that he's worried about me underperforming in the army." That was also true, as betraying the pigmasks would be the greatest underperformance of all.

"You must call him King P or Master Porky now that you're working for him." 'Bud' said. "And I'm to monitor you? I suppose that is understandable since you're still new. If that is all, then you should go get some sleep now or you won't perform very well for your first mission."

 _So, I guess he can't detect misleading statements,_ Ness thought. _Good to know._

"I'm a teenager," Ness said with a smirk. "I always procrastinate sleep. And you're a teenager too. We should both stay up late together! Who's up for playing Mario Bros?"

Bud looked rather confused, which was probably the most emotion he'd shown since Ness first saw him. "I don't understand why you would procrastinate something as vital as sleep simply because you are at the adolescent stage of your life. And I am only two years old, the body itself should look around 10-12 so either way I would not be old enough to be considered an adolescent like you."

"Actually, teens naturally fall asleep later than other age groups," Ness replied. "So it's not my fault. I heard from a nerdy and awesome friend of mine that teens like me act insufferable and illogical as a mechanism for breaking away from our parents and forming our own beliefs. Hint, hint."

"..." The other boy didn't seem sure if he understood what Ness just said. "So it's a coping mechanism in you adolescent humans to act out against your guardians to leave them?"

"Yep," Ness answered in a cheery voice. "It's because we as humans are designed to form our own beliefs and act like ourselves. As children, we adopt our parents' beliefs as a substitute because we don't have enough experience to form ones of our own. But after a while, we start to break away. We start to become our own people. We're _supposed_ to act like individuals, Bud. Why else would we have been given minds?"

"That is an interesting set of information about you humans. I've only known the adults here as there are no children in this base and I rarely ever leave here." The boy said. "Now I know how children raise themselves to be more like individuals from those who raise them. Perhaps I could use this information for any future missions coming up."

 _Ok, he totally missed the message,_ Ness thought with a sigh.

"Actually," Ness said. "You're a human too. Porky said that he brainwashed you, supposedly to think that you were a robot. You know that I'm telling the truth because your lie detector isn't going off."

"I am aware of my own biology," The boy said, still showing no emotion. "For I am half human, half robot. A mechanical chimera, the first human chimera of my kind. But it matters not to me what I am, because all that matters is my purpose and that I must follow it without question."

"Are you so sure?" Ness asked with a grin. "Fassad told me that he would break me and implied that I would end up like you. He basically said that you're broken, Bud. You don't work properly _because_ you're half-robot."

"Fassad always called me broken. His words means nothing to me," Bud said without missing a beat.

"Do you ever wonder why?" Ness asked. "Do you ever wonder if you _might_ be broken?"

"If I truly were broken as Fassad claims, then Dr. Andonuts would've informed me of my malfunction. I am and have always been in perfect working condition since I was made." Bud hesitated slightly. "... With some minor glitches here and there."

 _Dr. Andonuts…_ Ness thought, a chill running down his spine. _What is Jeff's father doing with these pigmasks?_

"Do you ever wonder if Dr. Andonuts was the one breaking you in the first place?" Ness asked.

"That is preposterous. Dr. Andonuts is very loyal to Master Porky and he was the one who created me in the first place. What possible reason would he have to break me?" Bud was starting to show bits and pieces of annoyance and a hint of agitation on his usually emotionless face.

"Because maybe if you were whole, you wouldn't follow Porky so readily," Ness whispered, turning away.

"Your words make no sense." Bud shook his head. "Perhaps you do need more sleep since you procrastinate it so much."

"What part of my argument doesn't make sense!?" Ness yelled, banging his hand on the wall. "You were a human, Bud! You were supposed to be an individual! And now you aren't. Now you're a robot. How in the _world_ are you not broken?"

"I don't deal with human emotions well, but it's easy to see you're angry about something," The boy said without flinching. "You misunderstood me. I said my biology is human, but it doesn't mean I was an individual human in a past life. I was created with this biology, it's as simple as that. I don't have a heart or a mind of my own. So basically, I AM a robot, just a robot with flesh."

A dam broke in Ness' mind. Tears started flowing from his eyes.

 _It's just so sad!_ Ness thought. _He's fallen so far… how can I possibly beat this?_

Ness was about to give up when something flashed in his head. In that instant, Ness was back in the Cave of Origin, surrounded by a heavy darkness. He looked around and saw his friends standing next to him. Jeff, Paula, and Poo all looked like they were about to drop over.

 _I quit!_ Ness yelled. _He's invincible! We can't beat him!_

He broke down sobbing. Nothing was going to be okay. He just failed the world.

And then Paula started praying.

Ness opened his mouth in shock as he started to hear voices other than Giygas' leaking through the emptiness. Maybe he was imagining things, but was Paula forming a connection with the outside world somehow?

Then Ness realized it. They couldn't beat Giygas on their own. Even a demigod couldn't defeat Giygas. Nothing could defeat Giygas… nothing except for the power of combined human emotion. It wasn't the praying that gave Paula the power to defeat Giygas. It was the way that the prayer brought so many people together.

Ness shook his head and appeared back in the present, standing across from another equally heartless enemy.

"You _are_ a human," Ness whispered angrily. "You've forgotten that, but I know who you truly are, under that mask that you unconsciously wear."

The other boy slowly reached out a hand and touched Ness's cheek, looking rather surprised. "... What is this? Water leaking from your eyes? … Oh… they're called tears, aren't they? I've never seen a human producing tears before. It's quite intriguing. And yet… it also gives me a sense of unease."

"You _have_ seen people cry before," Ness whispered. "You just don't remember. You've seen people laugh and dance, you've seen people scream and weep, and you've seen people love and hate. You just don't remember any of it. That is why I'm sad. _That_ is why I'm crying."

Bud was looking at Ness, the expression on his face was hard to tell but he seemed to be at least thinking about what he said. "... You're… crying because… you're sad… about me? You hardly know me. Why would you cry over a robot you hardly know?"

"Because _someone_ has to," Ness answered, wiping away his tears as more started to flow. "Nobody else cares about you. Not even _you_ care about yourself. Don't you see? I can't let you end up alone and forgotten. I just _can't._ "

The younger boy began to look uneasy, as if not sure what to do with a crying child. "... Maybe you should talk to Dr. Andonuts… or a psychologist. I'm really not good with comforting humans that are sad."

"I don't _want_ to be comforted," Ness whispered. "I _want_ to feel sad! Because I can see the broken shards of who you were, Bud. I can see the tears that come from your eyes as well. It's just that your emotions are so badly beaten down that you don't recognize them anymore."

Bud was starting to back away from Ness. "What do you even want from me? If you want to cry then go cry over the pigmasks Master Porky is giving a hard time on."

"Don't deny your pain," Ness hissed, taking a step forward. "I don't care about the pigmasks. They joined this organization voluntarily. But _you_ didn't! I… I…" Ness started sobbing again. "Why am I the only one who can see the pain? Why am I the only one who cries for the broken? Ah… I'm sorry, Bud. I really am hysterical, aren't I? No, not 'hysterical' funny, I mean that I'm going insane. And yet I still possess the most sanity out of anyone here that I've met… ah, isn't life ironic, Bud? I'm sorry for rambling. I should go back to my room. Please… please at least _think_ about what I said, okay?"

"..." Bud didn't even say anything, he just watched as Ness left the room. Before Ness could close the door, the other boy did say one more thing:

"You really do have a bad habit of talking a lot."

Ness paused, giving no indication just how _angry_ he felt.

"I know," Ness whispered, "But I have to. Voicing my thoughts is the only thing that keeps me sane. I don't want bottle up all of my anger and frustration."

Ness turned his head around to look at Bud, feeling a primal sense of fear haunt him.

"I don't want to turn into you."


	5. Chapter 5: Power

**DarkFoxKit: We're back dear readers! And just in time to update Time Distorter! :)**

 **Connor: I was half-asleep while editing this, so there might be some typos here and there. I hope that it doesn't impact the story in a significant way…**

 **DarkFoxKit: Half asleep? Wow, you must've had a really busy day. Perhaps we should just jump right on in then?**

 **Connor: Half-asleep is a bit of an exaggeration, but I am tired. :P Yeah, let's move onto the reviews!**

 **12courtney12:** **Well… it is true, Claus is a walking tragedy considering what happens to him in the game. ^^' Not to mention the image of how he became a chimera in the first place can send one cringing.**

 **Connor: Thanks! :) And I'm glad that you can sympathize with Ness and Claus. It feels good as a writer to see that my words mean something to other people.**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah, I guess Porky isn't too creative with the colors. Maybe he just didn't care.**

 **Oh so now you're going to be making Ness puns too!**

 **Oh, but poor Claus doesn't know that, after all he's programmed to 'follow the status quo'. ;P**

 **Yeah, it took the combined efforts of Lucas, Hinawa and Flint to convince Claus he's not Porky's robot and even then it was a close call. Let's hope Ness can snap him out of it. ;w;**

 **Porky's evil because he's immortal and a child. Eventually an immortal child will get bored and when they get bored they become twisted, and soon nothing but boredom is their enemy. To escape boredom they will do whatever they can to have fun, even if it means hurting people and resembling living beings into something unnatural.**

 **Connor: Remember that the pigmasks do have airships and stuff. Fassad goes into the woods to catch a ride and nobody would know that he's associated with them. Yeah, a lot of people are like Claus in that they can't understand the world beyond their view. It's sad. D:**

 **Personally, I feel like Fassad's manipulation and coercion is worse than his implementation of the economy. Economies aren't bad, it's when people are forced to partake in them that it becomes a problem. Huh, your phone autocorrects words that are already right? ...How exactly does that work? xD Well, psions can't summon things, but they can do some other pretty cool stuff. Telepathic links are nothing to sneeze at. :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Admittedly, first time I played through Earthbound, I thought his name WAS Porky until I carefully read his name. ^^'**

 **Flun:** **I think lately everyone's life has been pretty busy. ^^'**

 **Ninten and Ness having a role reversal from Ceres? … I guess I could see that, Ness being the more powerful of the two due to circumstances, and Ninten being more of the self doubting one because of his loss of memory. I'll leave the rest of Ness's comments to Connor.**

 **Porky has an interesting plan in mind for Ness, he doesn't want to brainwash him, but he wants to see what Ness would do, especially with Claus, the one he calls his little monster slave.**

 **Fassad… yeah, nobody knows what his problem was, all we have are fan theories really.**

 **Well it seems most of your reviews are about Connor so… I'll just let him do the rest of the talking here. Not that I blame you; he is a really great writer.**

 **Connor: Hmm… I'm not sure that I would say that Ness and Ninten completely swap roles in this fic. :) Ness is kinda the opposite, but Ninten… he shares a lot of similarities in these two stories. He feels kinda alone and has low self-esteem in both fics, it's just that in Ceres he doesn't really care all that much. xD He's so weird in Ceres. :x And I think that it's fine if you reference other fics in your reviews (unless Fox has a problem with it).**

 **Yeah, all of my silly characters have a serious side (which is a tip that I picked up from my favorite author). And Ness may be kinda the ideal character in this fic (I'm still trying to give him more weakNesses), I wouldn't say that any characters in my other stories are ideal (except for maybe Ness in City of Progress, but he's not my favorite). :) And yeah, Ness can get pretty emotional/pessimistic about stuff (a lot like me, actually).**

 **I would say that I don't have a lot of self-confidence, but I would also say that's not really a bad thing. I don't really beat myself up about much of anything anymore. But yeah, feeling like your writing isn't good enough is the bane of many writers. Tbh, I never really get like that. When I think that something sucks, I'm like "Okay, this sucks. I'm just going to release this and try to make the next one better." And thanks! :) Maybe we are secretly clones haha. That would be really creepy, now that I think about it. O.O**

 **DarkFoxKit: I suppose it is important to have a lot of self-confidence. Of course, I never really have a lot of those. ^^' But we're glad you're liking the story so far. Anyways, I think that's it for today, so we hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _"_ _Ninten… ca- … u... hea- …. me?"_

 _What… what's… that…? It sounds… fuzzy. Like someone turned on the TV and all there's only… static._

 _"_ _... Ni- … he…. cas-... me…?"_

 _It's getting even worse… the frequency is just terrible. What is that? … No… I think it's more of a 'who'... it sounds like someone's trying to talk to me… Maybe if I listen really hard I can hear what they're saying…_

 _Excuse me…? Who are you? What do you want? Can you hear me?_

 _"_ _So... hard… must… keep… going… Ninten… help?"_

 _I can hardly hear you… Wait… what's that silhouette? It looks… kinda like a woman…? If it is, she's kind of hard to make out. But the silhouette is leaving… Wait! Don't go! I heard your voice earlier, back at the forest... didn't I? Do you know who I am? Please wait! … It's no good… it's drifting off…_

Ninten opened his eyes, rays of sunlight shining on his face. The boy groaned as he slowly sat up from the bed, looking down to remember he was still wearing the same clothes he had on the day before.

"I really need to get some new clothes…" he said out loud to himself. "Hey Lucas-" he stopped when he saw the blond haired boy was nowhere to be seen. "Lucas…?"

Ninten frowned a bit as he got out of bed, looking around the house. He still didn't see any signs of the younger boy. _That's odd… where'd he go? Why didn't he wake me up? … Isn't today our first day to work at the bakery? Did he leave without me?_

Thinking about Lucas leaving without him like that hurt a bit. Ninten didn't know anyone else and Lucas was the only person he could trust. Deciding that he had nothing else to do, Ninten walked out of the house to try and see where Lucas went.

 _"_ _Hey new smell!"_ A familiar dog barked cheerfully.

"..." Ninten stared at Boney before shaking his head. "I'm not insane… I'm not insane… just walk away from the dog," he said to himself, moving past Boney.

 _"_ _Hey! You're not even going to say good morning? How rude! At least say hi to me or acknowledge that you can see me!"_ Boney barked at the boy.

"... Hi," Ninten said before running away from the 'talking' dog.

When Ninten ran into town, he sighed in frustration. "How am I going to find Lucas? He could be anywhere!"

"Hey, new kid!" Fuel shouted as he strode forward with a level of swagger that Ninten thought was unnecessary. "Why are you up so early?"

"Uh… what time is it? I didn't remember seeing a clock anywhere," Ninten asked the boy he spoke to the other day.

Fuel pointed to a large clock on one of Tazmily's taller buildings.

"That's the only clock in town, and it now seems to dictate our lives," Fuel muttered with a level of contempt that Ninten suspected wasn't completely sincere. "It's eight right now. Your job doesn't start until noon, so you still have _hours_ to sleep. Meanwhile, _I_ happen to be busy with chores, so I have to wake up at this ungodly hour."

Ninten squinted. Fuel didn't seem to be doing anything important… "Um… excuse me for asking but… what exactly are you even doing?"

"I'm… er…" Fuel's eyes narrowed. "Okay, I'm not doing anything at all. But that still begs the question of why you got out of bed so early. Aren't you a teenager?"

"I'd assume so. I mean I think I'm 13 years old at least," Ninten responded, feeling embarrassed as he was reminded that he didn't remember much of anything about himself. "W-well… I just couldn't sleep. And I found out Lucas was gone, so I was looking for him. Have you seen him anywhere?"

"Oh, that kid? He's always goofing off in the Sunshine Forest, whittling away the precious few hours that he has on this Earth. He should really learn to be _productive,_ just like me or Angie." Fuel offered a playful smile.

"Um… Sunshine Forest?" Ninten began thinking to himself. _Ah, that must be the forest I woke up in. I wonder why Lucas went there?_

"Okay, I'll go see what he's up to. You and Angie just keep… being productive then and we'll see you when it's work time!" Ninten said to Fuel before turning around and walking north, trying to remember where the forest entrance was.

Ninten passed by a lot of people as they were going on about their day. He was surprised so many of them were up at his hour, but most of them were adults so the younger generation were most likely still asleep. His basic knowledge of life told him that teenagers usually go to sleep late at night and wake in the afternoon if they don't have school. Ninten passed by what seemed to be the center of town, where that Fassad guy was still preaching about happy boxes and how lightning would strike the houses of those who turned down the contraptions.

Ninten just ignored Fassad, not really caring about happy boxes at the moment. The boy finally came to the Sunshine Forest entrance before he stopped. _Why would Lucas come here? He seemed so… timid, and doesn't he know this forest has hostile creatures? I hope he's okay…_

Now worried for the blond haired boy, Ninten ventured into the forest. What surprised him were the amount of unconscious creatures on the ground. Most were those chicken headed snakes he fought with earlier, and a rat with propellers around its neck. Up ahead, Ninten could hear grunts that sounded like Lucas. Curious, Ninten kept going until he came to a clearing just past that cabin house, that's where he saw Lucas.

Lucas gripped a stick in both hands, clutching it so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He carried multiple gashes across his body, although none appeared to be serious. He took a swing at the nearest chicken-snake-whatever, his eyes blazing with a level of anger that made Ninten feel nervous.

SMAAASH!

Lucas' swing connected with chicken headed snake, sending the creature flying off into the distance. The blond turned around and gasped in surprise, his azure irises flashing with horror.

"Ninten!" he shouted in surprise. "Why are you here? Don't you know that this place is dangerous?"

"Uh…" in his surprise, Ninten didn't know what to say. "Well… I kinda knew that… since I woke up here… and I was worried when I heard you came in this forest." He looked at the unconscious bodies uneasily. "... But… I can see you can take care of yourself." Ninten gave a small chuckle meant to cover up his fear.

Lucas' eyes switched from concerned to ashamed in the blink of an eye.

"You were worried… about me?" he asked, as if the concept had never occurred to him before. "I'm sorry Ninten, I didn't mean to worry. I… thought that you would sleep in later. I'm not particularly proud of this, you see, so…" Lucas shrugged and offered a weak smile.

Ninten felt a little more comfortable seeing the Lucas he came to know coming back. "I just had a weird dream that woke me up and I saw you were gone so… um… Wow Lucas, you didn't tell me you could fight. I had trouble just knocking down _one_ of those chicken head snake things, yet you seem to be able to knock out a dozen with no problem!"

Lucas blushed.

"Really, my obsession with combat is a little silly," he said. "I mean, when am I going to have to fight someone? I sure _feel_ silly, standing here right now."

"Is there a reason for this obsession?" Ninten asked off the bat. "You really seemed into it when you were maiming those… things. Surely something must be driving you if you're so obsessed with it in the first place."

"Perceptive," Lucas noted somberly. "The truth is that I hate feeling helpless. I mean, nobody _likes_ feeling helpless, but most people can deal with it for a while if they have to. Not me, though. Whenever I feel my power start to slip away, I go nuts. I'm so utterly terrified of feeling powerless that I try to fight these chimeras to grow stronger. I guess I figure that if I'm strong, then I'll always have a reservoir of power to resort to. It's stupid, I know, but that stupidity keeps me going."

Ninten listened to Lucas's words as the boy spoke and tried to think of an appropriate response. "... That feeling of being powerless, huh? I wish I could say I speak from experience but… I don't have any memory to speak from. I guess you could say I'm feeling powerless right now for not even knowing who I am. And… I think what you're doing is very understandable. You strive to make yourself stronger so you don't feel helpless anymore and possibly to protect your only remaining family. Also… these things are called 'chimeras'?"

"Yes," Lucas answered. "Chimeras are a mixture of two animals… although I've heard that they can also be robots. Thanks for supporting me, but I don't know if this," he pointed to all of the wreckage around him, "is justified. It feels like I'm doing it all to avoid a childish paranoia."

"I take it you must've had a really bad experience with them if you're pushing yourself to fighting them so much, even if you feel it's unnecessary." Ninten said. "Fear and paranoia can drive a human to do irrational things after all, but heck, what do I know, right?"

"Well, you seem like you know quite a bit," Lucas replied. "And to answer your first question… yes, I did have a bad experience. Well, I suppose that good and bad are relative. Maybe that experience was _normal_ and the rest of my life has just been awesome." Lucas shook his head. "But you might want to take everything that I say with a grain of salt. I get all sorts of crazy ideas in my head. It's just that unlike my brother Claus, I rarely dive into these ideas without testing the waters first."

"I doubt anything about these chimeras is considered normal." Ninten frowned. "But I guess you feel you needed to take out all your anger, rage and grief on something. And I don't blame you for that. Still, please don't wave that stick in my direction… I'm pretty sure I'm not much of a fighter and I bruise easily."

"Sorry!" Lucas exclaimed, moving the stick away from Ninten's direction before blushing again. "But… it does surprise me that you aren't a fighter. You seem _strong,_ somehow. I don't mean physically… or maybe I do. Heck, I don't really _know_ what I mean. You should probably forget that I ever said that."

"Uh… okay…?" Ninten wasn't sure what Lucas even meant and decided maybe it wasn't important. "Um… anyways… we should probably head back into town. We have a job to do today, right? And I rather not get fired on the first day for showing up late."

Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"We still have plenty of time. I checked with Fuel, and he said that we start at noon, at least for today. And what's the time right now? Seven? Seven-thirty?"

"I don't know! I don't have a watch and my internal clock is kind of out of whack!" Ninten flushed with embarrassment. "Well if we don't start for a while then what should we do in the meantime? Are you going to beat up more chimeras? Maybe I'll ask that Fassad guy more about these mysterious happy boxes…"

Upon mentioning Fassad, Lucas' face turned dark.

"Trust me, you do _not_ want to get mixed up with that guy. Take my word for it."

"... Right, sorry." Ninten forgot that Lucas had a grudge against the man who changed his hometown so much. Although the happy box does pique his interest, especially if it's some kind of television, it'd be good during boring days at the very least.

Lucas cocked his head, looking up towards the sky. "As for what to do… I can't beat up many more chimeras, since I already took most of them out. They keep coming back periodically, though… it makes me wonder if someone is releasing more of them here."

 _Now there's a scary thought; someone mass producing these chimeras and letting them run wild,_ Ninten thought to himself in slight horror.

"Nah, that's probably just me being cynical. I was honestly planning to hang around the forest for a while. It's pretty peaceful when there aren't many chimeras about. I know that sounds pretty lame… but I _do_ need to heal these cuts." Lucas scratched some of his wounds, causing them to break open and bleed. "They never told me that pain could be so _itchy._ "

Ninten frowned as he looked at Lucas in concern, now that he paid more attention, Lucas did look pretty beaten up. This made the red hat wearing boy wonder how long Lucas had been out here. "Don't agitate it by scratching more, you're going to make it worse. Look, is there a hospital you can go to? A doctor might need to check you to make sure you don't have an infection or poison in your system… can chicken snakes even poison you?"

"They can't," Lucas answered. "And what's a 'hospital' and a 'doctor'?"

"... Uh… wow… okay." Ninten wasn't expecting there to not be any hospitals in an urban place, but he supposed that it _did_ seem rural in a lot of ways. "Um… what do you usually do to fix yourself up then?"

"There's a hot spring around here that must be infused with magic or something," Lucas answered, "Because it always heals my cuts right up. It only takes seconds… and I'm not exaggerating one bit!"

"What? I've never heard of such a thing before. Hmm… well if this hot springs really have such healing properties, then I'd like to see it myself." Ninten said with curiosity in his eyes.

"Sure," Lucas answered with a smile. "Maybe we can hang out in the forest for a bit longer after that… it really is nicer than the town. And then after _that,_ we can head over to the bakery. Is that okay?"

"Uh… sure, I guess. I don't know this forest really well other than…" Ninten pointed at a spot that was a few feet away from the cabin they were passing by. "...waking up in that spot over there."

Lucas laughed.

"Well, maybe I'll show you all of the cool stuff that I've found in this forest. Well, 'cool' might be an exaggeration because it's just streams and animal nests and stuff, but it's still cooler than the people in Tazmily."

Ninten felt a little uncomfortable that Lucas implied he really didn't like people; it just made him feel like maybe Lucas may not really like him either and is only tolerating him because of his situation. Still, Ninten didn't dare voice this as he didn't want to offend the only boy who's given him food and shelter since he arrived in this place.

They came to a small clearing where there was a tiny pool of water, still big enough to fit at least four or five people. The water was steaming and it looked very inviting to Ninten.

Lucas smiled at him before walking into the hot spring himself, slowly as he let his body try to get used to the heat as he went in deeper and began to relax. Ninten watched silently and curiously as the special hot spring began to work its magic. The black haired boy's eyes widen as he watched Lucas's wounds closing themselves and healing, not even leaving a scar behind. Ninten was surprised by this; he was _sure_ that he's never seen anything like that before… and yet… he felt like maybe he had. Shaking his head, he just kept watching as the hot spring continued to heal Lucas of his injuries.

Later, the sun was high in the sky, indicating it was noon. Ninten learned this after Lucas told him how to tell the time without relying on a clock. The main thing is knowing where the sun was positioned and the shadows. Ninten himself was still surprised with everything so far that he shocked himself that he didn't feel overwhelmed.

 _First I wake up in a forest with no memory, then I fought with a chimera, come into an urban rural place, get talked to about happy boxes, living with Lucas, talking to dogs, and now there's a hot spring that can heal injuries almost right away. Am I sure I'm not dreaming all this or something? Because it really sounds like something that could only happen in a dream. Still… Lucas was right, the forest was nice and quiet and it was nice to get away from the busy life in the town. Lucas showed me a few places where to get food in case it's ever really necessary. But now it was time for us to go to work at the bakery… I hope I don't screw this job up… I'm going to need money in this place if I hope to survive living here._

"So Lucas… have you ever made bread before?" Ninten asked as the two boys were heading back into town.

"A few times," Lucas answered. "But not all that well. I was pretty little, and my mom did most of the work. Back then, baking was considered to be girly, so I stopped when I got older."

"Really? I've seen men bake a lot." Ninten said before frowning. "Uh… I think I did. This amnesia's throwing me off. I just feel like it's not really a gender specific kind of thing, you know? Besides, I'd like to learn to bake some bread, you can even make something like pizza one of these days!"

Lucas nodded, although he didn't seem to share Ninten's enthusiasm.

"I agree that baking _shouldn't_ be gender specific… most jobs really shouldn't be, honestly. And yeah, baking is useful… but what's a 'pizza'? Sounds like junk food from New Pork."

Ninten looked almost aghast at that. "You don't even know what PIZZA is!? Lucas, I'm the one with the loss of memory here but I've got so much to teach you about modern life!" then he chuckled. "I'm kidding, I wouldn't force that on you unless you really want it. I'm just happy to be living somewhere and with someone so friendly." _Except to chimeras, possibly Fassad, and most likely everyone else who watches those happy boxes, but I'll keep my mouth shut about that._

Lucas laughed.

"You can teach me about modern life if you want to…" Lucas replied. "Although, I can't promise that I'll act enthusiastic about it. I'm one of those people who perpetually lives in the past, and in the past we didn't have any modern goods or appliances. I unconsciously associate 'modern' with 'Fassad', 'fascism', and 'pigmasks', even though I know that it's probably just a baseless paranoia."

 _I wonder if Lucas is uneasy with me since I seem to most likely come from a more urban kind of city?_ Ninten wondered to himself.

"I kinda figured that. But… I still haven't seen any of these pigmasks you spoke about before." Ninten said. "Do they really dress up like pigs?"

"Unfortunately, yeah," Lucas snorted. "Ah, I suppose that's not fair… it's too insulting for the pigs to be compared to the pigmasks. If I were a pig, I would have been offended at that."

"I still like to see them. I'm quite curious what they look like," Ninten said as they finally reached the bakery. "Maybe we'll see some today as customers." He gestured to the door and smiled at the blond haired boy. "After you. If Fuel decides to attack us with dough, I'm using you as a meat shield."

Lucas smiled as he stepped into the bakery.

"Heh, Fuel wouldn't attack us with dough. He's not the type." Lucas lowered his voice to a whisper. "Angie, though… she might attack us if we screw up, but it probably wouldn't be with dough. Too valuable to waste. And if you want, we can head over to the pigmask training facility after work."

"Cool. I get to see pig people in action." Ninten chuckled as he followed Lucas in.

Fuel was already there, helping set up the bread into the basket. Angie was helping her mother Caroline bake some bread.

"Ah good, you two are here." Caroline smiled at seeing the two boys.

Lucas nodded, turning his attention to Fuel.

"I'm surprised that you showed up on time, Fuel," Lucas teased.

"Hah!" Fuel replied. "I had to work the breakfast shift. And I'm always punctual. I take my job _very_ seriously."

Ninten couldn't tell if Fuel was serious or not; he could never really tell when the boy was joking.

"Alright, the lunch hour will be starting soon. It's when we're the most busy," Caroline said. "Lucas, think you can be the cashier? I think your friendly attitude will bring in the customers."

Lucas looked at Caroline, not seeming to know if she was serious or not about his 'friendly attitude.'

"All right, ma'am," Lucas answered.

"Cut the formality," Fuel interrupted. "You're making me look _impolite_ over here with my everyday vocabulary."

"You don't need my help for that," Lucas muttered as he stepped up to the cash register. "So, I just push this button to open it, boss?"

Caroline chuckled before she said, "I'll teach you the basics of how to use the cash register before we start. And as for you Ninten… why don't you help Fuel out with the bread? Your job is to bake and stack the bread on the shelves."

Ninten nodded to her. "I can do that, ma'am."

"Oh and make sure Fuel keeps his grubby hands to himself." Angie added. "Just make sure he doesn't eat anything."

Fuel let out an exaggerated gasp.

"Angie! I would never! Haven't I been the perfect little worker ever since I started?"

"Our bread have been _mysteriously_ disappearing since you started working here." Angie hissed.

Fuel legitimately looked confused, although Ninten wouldn't have been surprised if he were acting.

"I don't know who took the bread, but I didn't," he snapped, his normally easygoing demeanor replaced by an aggressive expression. "Meanwhile, you've been caught red handed _throwing_ stuff around this _fragile_ little shop. Maybe you should look to yourself for the next target of your homilies, Angie."

"Okay! Enough, you two! Between your bickering I'm surprised you haven't scared off the customers." Caroline sighed. "Okay Lucas, now pay close attention…"

A little later, the door opened and that was when Ninten got his first look at a pigmask. The person looked pretty chubby, either that or the uniform they're wearing just makes them look fat, and they really had a pig mask over their heads… it was more like a helmet as it covered their entire face. The boy couldn't help but stare at the pigmask, surprised that they really do dress like pigs.

"Hello, sir," Lucas said politely, wearing a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Are you just browsing, or would you like some assistance?"

"I'm here to get some bread. The stomach's growling and the food supply is low!" The pigmask shouted.

Lucas nodded, not seeming turned off. Either that, or he was a good actor.

"Would you like to take a look at the different types, sir, or should I set you up with the standard style of bread?" Lucas asked.

"Just get me everything off the menu. We're going to need a lot of food for the training facility, we've got a lot more new recruits coming in! The credit will pay for anything we need, so just make it snappy!" The pigmask said in an impatient tone.

"Of course," Lucas said, not seeming fazed. "My apologies, sir." He looked to Caroline, his eyes seeming to say: _"These guys will actually pay, right?"_ Upon receiving a curt nod, Lucas turned to Ninten and Fuel.

"Would you two please carry out the order?" Lucas asked, his voice falsely sweet. "You did hear the gentleman, correct?"

Ninten sweatdropped, he could see through that sweet smile that Lucas was ready to scream. "Yeah, we're on it!"

Ninten turned to Fuel and said, "We… do have enough, right?"

"Sure hope so," Fuel muttered, grabbing baskets of bread off of the shelves. "Hey, boss! How do we compile all of this bread?"

"Put each one in a basket until it's full, then move on the another basket. Make sure you give him all the types of bread." Caroline said.

"Maybe I was looking for some indication of _how much he wanted,_ " Fuel muttered quietly enough so that only Ninten could hear.

Ninten quickly began putting the bread into an empty basket. "He just said he wanted everything off the menu, so maybe just one of everything since he wasn't specific."

"But he implied that he needed a lot of food," Fuel whispered. "And this bread is going out to a whole brigade of pigmasks. How do I ask how much the pigmask wants _without_ making him mad? This is a new experience for me."

"From what I know of restaurants, customers are pretty hard to deal with. All we can do is give him his order and if it's not what he wanted then he'll have to be more specific, if he gets angry then it's not our own fault." Ninten said. "But then again I don't think I've ever worked at a job before so I could be wrong."

Fuel shrugged.

"Nah, you're probably right. I'm just worried that Angie will take this as another excuse to put a red mark next to my name."

He shook his head, having finished gathering the bread into a basket. He took the basket up and placed it on the counter.

"You want more of these?" Fuel asked the pigmask.

"These are good for my share." The pigmask said. "But what about the rest of them? We need more!"

Fuel shot Ninten a look that seemed to say, _"I told you so."_

"Sir… if you want more, you'll have to be specific or we won't know how much you want." Ninten spoke up, getting rather annoyed by this guy.

"Just about everything on the shelves will do." The pigmask answered.

"Sir, that would make us run out of bread and we'd have to wait for the next shipment from New Pork City for a week before we can open the bakery again." Angie suddenly spoke up.

"Why don't we let the boss make the decision?" Lucas asked, turning to Caroline. "Ma'am, do you think that we can fulfill this man's request?"

Caroline gave a sigh, it was clear she either hadn't been expecting this or she was but had been dreading it. "We will give him what he wants. This happens every time the training facility runs low on food but has a surplus of new recruits. I'm sorry Lucas, Ninten, I guess you'll have to find somewhere else to work for the time being."

"But why? I mean is it really that necessary to give ALL the bread you have?" Ninten questioned, frowning at this.

"We have to please the pigmasks, they're essentially the police officers and if we displease them then they'll close us down one way or another." Caroline explained to the new boy, making him frown but not say another word.

Lucas' face turned downcast.

"Well, we should still help with the packaging, right?" he asked, a mixture of hope and despair clashing in his voice.

"I'm still waiting!" the pigmask growled impatiently.

"Good," Fuel muttered, again so that only Ninten could hear. "Keep waiting there. Geez, this guy asks for _all_ of the bread on the shelf and expects to get out in less than a minute! Who does he think that he is?"

"Apparently a celebrity from the way he's acting." Ninten whispered back.

"I'll at least give you some payments for helping out." Caroline said to Lucas and Ninten. "Now let's do this before we make the… gentleman wait any longer."

"That means you too, Angie!" Fuel shouted, although he didn't seem completely serious.

Angie dumped a basket of bread over Fuel's head. "Good, now get to work." She wasn't in a good mood at all, not that Ninten blamed her.

"And she accuses _me_ of _stealing_ bread," Fuel muttered, shaking his head in disgust. "There are children starving in New Pork, Angie! You should feel ashamed of wasting perfectly good food!"

"Alright," Lucas cut in. "How about we all just work in silence? I don't think that the customer appreciates your squabbles."

He walked over and started loading bread into a basket.

"So now what would we do?" Ninten muttered to Fuel quietly as he was helping put more bread in the basket. "I mean… I don't think Lucas and I could last a week without a paying job…"

Fuel scowled, although not at Ninten.

"You could try to rely on Lucas' father… although that has mixed results. Normally he hunts stuff in the woods while he's searching for Claus. It's normally enough to get by, although with another person… I really don't know, Ninten. I suppose that there's always the factory."

Ninten perked up at hearing this, he knew about factories from his basic knowledge, though he couldn't help but cringe a bit yet he didn't know why. "A factory? There's a factory? I never saw anything like that here…"

Fuel shook his head.

"Not here," he whispered, trying to stay quiet while he loaded bread into baskets. "If you head east, you'll reach a factory. The easiest way to get there is by train, although that presents a vicious choice in itself. You see, train tickets cost an exorbitant amount for people who don't work at the factory, but you have to make it to the factory to sign up and work there."

"... Seems rather unfair for those who wants to go there to sign up." Ninten frowned. "But… if it's the only way to get some money then we might not have a choice. I take it Lucas doesn't want to work there?"

"Nobody wants to work there, especially as a child," Fuel replied. "And more importantly, he doesn't have enough money for a ticket to the factory. That means that he has to… run on the train tracks if he wishes to ever get there. And I don't know if you've picked up on this, but Lucas is a pretty fearful kid. Having to journey over to the factory would leave him psychologically scarred."

"Lucas… fearful?" Ninten almost wanted to laugh at that as he recalled the way the boy fought those chimeras earlier. "I suppose he does appear to be pretty timid. I'll still ask him about it, though, especially if we're left with no other choice." He put in the last bread in the basket. "Okay, I think that's everything."

Fuel shook his head.

"You still don't understand, do you? You could _die_ by running across those tracks, Ninten. And trust me, you _do not_ want to die at this age. Not when there's so much more for you to do."

For some reason, Ninten just didn't feel scared at that notion. _Am I a cynical person? Why don't I feel scared at the prospect? I should be… I'm at a pretty young age and all… and yet… I just feel like I've heard this all before and it feels old._

Ninten shook his head, feeling he might be losing his mind. "I guess you're right, Fuel. I shouldn't attempt to do something so dangerous like that."

Fuel nodded, although he lacked all of his normal enthusiasm.

"Good," he said. "I would hate for you to end up like Hinawa or Claus. Mostly Claus, I suppose. That kid couldn't feel fear, and he paid the price." Fuel shook his head. "It just seems so stupid to throw your life away. We're all made individual with a nearly infinite amount of qualities that make us _us._ To take that all away prematurely… seems like a monstrous crime to nature itself. But I suppose that nature accounts for death, huh?"

Ninten was staring at Fuel. "... I think Lucas has been rubbing off of you. That sounded like something he would say. But I'm a bit surprised that you're so worried about me, I mean we just met yesterday after all."

Fuel shot Ninten a humorless smile.

"We sound the same because of our experiences, Ninten. We have both courted death, and that makes us appreciate life for what it truly is. That's why I care so much about you. I don't want your life to be wasted, because I have come so close to that myself. And besides, I don't know if Lucas could bear losing someone else who he's close to."

"Yeah…" Ninten gave a sadden look. "I'd imagine it would be pretty traumatizing to come close to death. And I wouldn't want Lucas to lose someone again… he already looks so fragile."

"Trust me, he's better now than a couple years ago," Fuel said. "I didn't know if he would ever come back… but I guess that he did. I should feel grateful for that, I suppose, but…" Fuel sighed. "This world just seems so _wrong._ "

Ninten put up the baskets on the counter as the pigmask began grabbing them and putting them in some carts. Ninten didn't say anything, but his mind was pretty active at what Fuel was saying.

 _Fuel must've been a really close friend of Lucas and Claus. It's no wonder he and Lucas were close enough to joke around like that. I haven't seen Lucas able to smile, laugh or joke around with anyone else. Losing Claus must've been hard for Fuel too. I wonder how much a life and death situation can change a person._

Ninten had been deep in thought after they left the bakery. Caroline had to close up the shop until they can get ingredients from New Pork. Now Ninten and Lucas were left to walk back home. Ninten was still pretty quiet; he wasn't sure if he should even say anything. Seeing how much the two boys he had spoken with had gone through made him feel like he didn't really have the right to say anything.

"Are you okay, Ninten?" Lucas asked, his eyes welling up with concern. "Maybe you're fine, but… well, you're not saying anything."

The scarf wearing boy looked over at Lucas and almost felt a bit scared to speak, but he managed to say something to him. "I was just… wondering what we should do now."

Lucas bit his lip.

"Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing," he replied. "Father barely makes enough for me and him, so I don't think that we could rely on him… although I guess we could, temporarily. I just hate having to rely on someone else. It makes me feel weak."

Ninten fiddled with his fingers, he wanted to say something to that but he wasn't sure if he should. After all what did he know? He didn't have any memory nor the experience. "W-well… maybe I could try living on my own and find another job so I wouldn't leech off of you anymore." _There's nothing wrong with relying on someone else… someone you trust… you can't take everything by yourself, no matter how strong you are._ Was what he wanted to say.

Lucas looked startled.

"I…" Lucas sighed, looking down at his shoes. "You can if you want to, Ninten, but please don't feel like you have to. I would really miss you if you moved away… although, we would still see each other. Ah, why am I so stupid? I shouldn't try to guilt trip you if you really want to live on your own. I'm sorry, Ninten."

"I don't really want to live on my own." Ninten suddenly said, biting his lip, trying to find the right words. "It's just… unless we can find another job, I would just be more of a hinderance to you. Is there any other spot that's open? Maybe another store or the inn perhaps?"

"Please don't worry about being a hinderance," Lucas replied. "Yesterday and this morning were the best times that I've had in two years! Again, you can leave if you want to, but… oh, what am I saying? Please stay, Ninten! I… this probably sounds stupid, but I'm scared of living on my own again."

Ninten was taken back by Lucas's sudden outburst, he hadn't expected the boy to have grown this attached to him in just two days, but then again he didn't really want to leave Lucas either. "H-hey Lucas… it's okay… I don't plan on leaving you alone again. I just wish I could help or do _something_. At this rate, we might as well be living in the woods where your dad keeps going to."

Lucas sighed, looking forlorn.

"My grandfather used to have a house in the woods… I would actually prefer to live there, away from all of the pigmasks. But yeah, living in the woods without a house would not be a good idea… although sometimes I think about it. What would my life be like if I didn't have to worry about money? But don't worry, I'm not seriously considering living out in the woods. Maybe… maybe I'll visit my mother's grave. That always gives me a sense of purpose, even if that purpose is born from sorrow. Do you want to come along?"

"Your mother's grave?" Ninten paused and was hesitant. "I-I don't know Lucas… that seems pretty personal and… I never even met her… are you sure I wouldn't be intruding?"

"Ninten," Lucas said, looking the other boy in the eye. "You're the closest friend that I have. _Of course_ you wouldn't be intruding."

Ninten looked at Lucas, he was surprised. "I'm your closest friend? What about Fuel? You've known him far longer than you've known me."

"Fuel is a wonderful person, but I don't connect as closely with him as I do with you," Lucas replied.

Ninten couldn't help but smile a little at that. "W-well… okay. If you really feel that strongly about it, Lucas, I'll go visit your mother's grave with you."

Lucas let out a sigh.

"Thank you, Ninten," he whispered. "I think that my mother's spirit would be happy to see us together right now. We're beaten and cracked, but we still have some fight left in us. That might be more than I ever had before."

"I'm glad to hear you haven't given up, Lucas." Ninten smiled. "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger, at least that's how the saying goes. Well… I don't know where the graveyard is so lead the way."

"Okay!" Lucas exclaimed. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, huh? Never heard that before. I'd say that it's true… although that strength has come at a grave cost."

Lucas lead Ninten through a gloomy, grey graveyard and eventually arrived at a cliff that hung above a brilliant mixture of trees. Ninten heard birds chirping in the distance. There were a lot of sunflowers off the side too.

"Here we are," Lucas whispered, walking up to a gravestone that already had flowers in front of it. "I hope it's okay that I didn't bring flowers this time, mother." Lucas mentioned for Ninten to come closer.

Ninten felt a little awkward, but walked closer until he was beside Lucas. The words on the tombstone lay in plain sight. It read, "DAUGHTER OF ALEC. WIFE OF FLINT. MOTHER OF TWINS- LUCAS AND CLAUS-". The boy wasn't sure if he should say anything, he just awkwardly stared at the grave and took off his cap in respect.

"Lucas?" An unfamiliar deep voice suddenly said from behind the two boys.

Lucas adopted a smile similar to the one that he used for dealing with the unruly pigmask back at the bakery.

"Hello, father," he said, and Ninten shivered at the similarity between the voice that he used now and how he addressed the pigmask. "Nice to see you here."

 _Why does it feel like a storm is brewing?_ Ninten thought grimly.


	6. Chapter 6: Human

**DarkFoxKit: It feels like it's been a long day. Oh, but at least one good thing came out of it; another update for Time Distorter!**

 **Connor: ...Not sure if this update is really a good thing. xD As you'll see, not much happens.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Hey, if fans enjoy the story they tend to enjoy chapters even if not much happens. At least I usually do with stories I'm a fan of. ^^'**

 **Connor: It just feels like rambling when nothing happens. So, uh… shall we answer the reviews?**

 **DarkFoxKit: Alright, we'll go ahead and dive right on in.**

 **doodles234:** **Yes.**

 **Flun:** **I know, right? You go to school solely just to take an exam and then just go home. They might as well just mail you the exam so you can take it at home. ^^'**

 **I don't blame Ninten, after all he has no memory of having psychic powers to talk to animals, so to him, a dog 'talking' is just unnatural or a sign of insanity. And I don't think we ever included those frogs in this fanfic.**

 **That's quite a description about Lucas there, but glad to see that you keep an open mind on how and why Lucas acts like he does in this story.**

 **Connor: Yeah, Lucas has learned how to hide his emotions pretty well. Kinda like me, actually… And it's a personality thing that he doubts himself (although it definitely has something to do with his experiences). As for Angie… kind of a combination. She's a little prickly no matter what, and Fuel sets her off big-time (even without doing anything wrong/bad… poor guy D:). And I'll be sure to blame the time zones, even if it doesn't really affect me. ;)**

 **DarkFoxKit: As for the Angie thing, honestly I made it more of a cartoonish kind of anger/violence with her to play off of Fuel's nature in this story.**

 **Shimo no ko** **: Yeah, Claus did get mentioned a few times, mostly to show that even after all this time, Lucas still thinks about him every now and then. And you're right about Claus having more than just a few key points in his personality, although right now he barely has any for obvious reasons. ^^' And you're right about Ninten and Ness having mistaken identities, it'll be fun to mess around with that since they look more like twins than Lucas and Claus do. And I don't know about Connor, but I don't tend to support boyxboy shipping. And it does make more sense for Ness to be with Claus since Porky was after Ness specifically. And I too believe the Pigmasks aren't really evil, maybe some of them were jerks, but they just follow orders because of the job they have, maybe they're doing it for their families, there could be several reasons. Yeah, Lucas's family tend to be on the scary side when they get angry, at least they do in this story. ^^' Poor Ninten.**

 **Connor: Yep, even adults tend to miss the true complexity of the human mind… not that I blame them. And I don't mind shipping boyxboy, but I feel like some people do it just to do it and I don't really want to be a part of that. Heh, Lucas is kind of an eerie person. And he gets mad a lot. But he's still shy and easily embarrassed. It's one of those times when I look at my characters and say "** ** _I_** **didn't plan that out!"**

 **A Fan:**

 **DarkFoxKit: Heh… if you have one, you're more than welcome to share a fan theory.**

 **Heh, yeah, like I said before; Ninten has no memory of being psychic, so to him a 'talking' dog is unnatural or a sign of insanity. XD**

 **Yes, it's a Slitherhen, but Ninten doesn't know its name so he just describes what he sees. Uh… thanks…? ^^'**

 **Probably having spent two years with those Pigmasks, Lucas has to put on a mask of good behavior to avoid causing trouble with them. And the bakery does bake things itself, but there's not enough ingredients for the entire village if they pay for more than one bread per day, so they need shipments from the city. Of course this means they have to wait for more if they end up selling out all their stuff before more can come in.**

 **Connor: Yeah, the bakery needs an emergency shipment, which was poorly explained. A lot of wheat is shipped off to New Pork, so sometimes Tazmily runs out (definitely not just making excuses). Yeah, bakeries bake their own stuff. I guess it would be better to say that they were ordering** ** _grain_** **from New Pork, but… well… I'm lazy and I don't want to go back and fix it. xD**

 **Yup, it's a death cycle just like in Mother 3 (although you don't die from it, thankfully). I think that I fixed that typo, but I honestly can't remember and once again am too lazy to check.**

 **Yup, Flint sees who Lucas appears to be (don't we all?). D: And don't worry, we can detect your sarcasm. ;)**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:**

 **DarkFoxKit: Hey, glad you could make it fellow fox! :3**

 **A Mystery Dungeon reference? … Uh maybe? ^^'**

 **I know the feeling of being powerless all too well, in fact I feel it pretty much every day.**

 **Yeah, the Pigmask was a rude one all right, and they aren't PIGmasks for nothing… they can eat a lot. ^^' Too bad for the bakery, and for Lucas and Ninten.**

 **The first time I heard the whole 'others are starving' guilt trip was when I was angry that my food wasn't what I was expecting it to be way back when I was a spoiled child. Though it didn't make sense to me since how would my food end up on their plate anyways, right? It didn't matter if I ate it or not. But yeah, I guess it is a way to say you should be grateful, but it's still a confusing message for children who might not get it.**

 **The factory was okay, I find it kinda funny and relaxing since you don't do much other than push tired Clayman, but I have a feeling that Ninten won't like it for… reasons you'll find out soon if you haven't already.**

 **Get ready for the incoming storm between Flint and Lucas, and poor Ninten is caught in the middle of it all. XP**

 **Connor: Ness puns are okay, imo. They're so easy that it's hard to make one stand out (even though I use a lot of them :P). And yeah, Porky's mean and Ness can't take on the whole world by himself. Fassad's motive isn't really explained at all. I took a crack at it in New Frontier, but I dunno how accurate that was. :/**

 **Yup, teasingly is a word. :) It's the adjective form for tease (because you really needed to know that). And telepathic links might be better than summoning… unless you play dungeons and dragons. The only viable way to deal physical damage in that game is to summon a bunch of creatures and have them attack things.**

* * *

Ness followed Bud through the hallways of the pigmask base, trying to act stealthy. He figured that Bud probably knew that he was there, but the commander didn't seem to care.

 _Where is he going?_ Ness wondered. _If only I actually paid attention when he was leading me around this place! It's like the universe is pushing me to be productive every once in awhile._

Bud kept going until he came to a white door with the words "Laboratory" written on it. Ness raised an eyebrow, wondering why Bud would go there. The robotic boy opened the door and went in.

 _Should I follow?_ Ness thought. _Probably not. Will I…?_

Ness sighed. At this point, he didn't even have to ask himself. Mustering as much swagger as he could, Ness strode through the doorway, pretending like he owned the place.

In the lab, there were scientists and researchers all over the place. They didn't wear those pigmask uniforms-rather, they wore the traditional white lab coat. They didn't seem to notice or care that Ness was there.

Ness saw Bud walking to one scientist in particular, one that he instantly recognized.

 _Dr. Andonuts,_ Ness realized with a chill. _It is him, and he doesn't look a day older than when I last saw him. But didn't Porky say that he brought me to the future?_

"Hello," Dr. Andonuts said, his glasses reflecting light in a way that marked him as a stereotypical evil doctor, at least to Ness' eyes. "What brings you here, commander?"

"Dr. Andonuts, there is… something I must ask of you," Bud said. "Why have you made me biologically part human?"

 _Does the kid not listen?_ Ness thought. _I told him that he was always a human, but he said that it didn't matter. Geez!_

"Ah, I was wondering when you would ask," Dr. Andonuts said, his eyes flashing with zeal. "The truth is, humans understand each other better than robots do. One of the benefits of your biological form is that you can… connect better with humans." He chuckled in a way that made the hair on the back of Ness' neck stand up straight.

 _He didn't say that was the primary reason,_ Ness thought. _He must be playing around the lie detector, just like I did. Curse the fact that my adversaries aren't complete idiots!_

"It seems illogical." Bud said. "I was made to serve Master Porky, nothing more, nothing less. Why make me into something that would connect to other humans? I was not meant to." He paused before he said something else. "And that Ness kid seems rather attached to me."

Dr. Andonuts looked concerned, but rebounded quickly.

"The reason that connecting to humans is important is not the connection itself, but rather what powers those connections allow you to access. Your human form allows you to use PSI."

 _He still didn't say that PSI was the primary reason,_ Ness thought. _And I thought that it would be. Huh._

"And someone… is attached to you?" Dr. Andonuts asked, not bothering to hide his confusion. "Tell me more about this… 'Ness.'"

"He doesn't have to!" Ness shouted, dramatically running forward, eventually skidding to a halt. He could almost _hear_ everyone around him cringe at the world's cheesiest entrance.

Dr. Andonuts blinked, and then chuckled haughtily.

"Hey, Bud!" Ness exclaimed. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Six hours is not that long," Bud said. "Why have you followed me here?"

 _He asks that like I'm supposed to have an actual reason,_ Ness thought.

"And more importantly, why do you wear the clothes of a commander?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "Seize this child at once!"

"Chill," Ness said, flashing a smile to hide his fear. "I am an actual commander, believe it or not."

"It is the truth," Bud said to confirm. "This boy is a commander as well."

"Oh is that so? Then I apologize," Dr. Andonuts said, looking at the boy. "You look familiar… have we met?"

 _Have we?_ Ness wondered. _I don't think that this is the same person who fathered Jeff and helped us out on our quest. But at the same time, I can't tell a fib with Mr. Lie Detector around._

"I don't think that we have," Ness answered carefully, making sure to tell the truth. "My name is Ness, and I'm friends with Bud here."

"That's nice, sweetheart," Dr. Andonuts grumbled in a condescending voice. "Now would you please leave? I have a patient to deal with."

 _Dang,_ Ness thought. _now what do I do?_

"I will escort the boy out," Bud said. "I apologize for disturbing you, Dr. Andonuts. But I must remind you that my appointment is next week. Master Porky wants to make sure my arm cannon does not glitch out during the mission."

Dr. Andonuts nodded feverishly.

"Yes, yes, of course. I have that appointment marked in my mind. And do not apologize for disturbing me. I, just like you, exist solely for King P."

 _And Bud doesn't react,_ Ness thought. _Andonuts must be telling the truth._

Bud turned to Ness before pushing his back and leading him out the door. "What are you doing? You should still be asleep at this hour."

"Nah, it's not that late," Ness answered, pretending not to care about Bud's poignant attitude. "Besides, I couldn't sleep. And to answer your question, I wanted to meet Dr. Andonuts. I know a person with the same last name. The person who I know actually cares about people, so I know that he can't be that old geezer who diagnoses the pigmasks."

"Dr. Andonuts is a wonderful person," Bud said. "He helps provide technology and the chimeras Master Porky demands. He even creates chimeras Master Porky didn't to help people, at least that's what I've heard. Master Porky had taken him and the other scientists from their time period because of their brilliant intelligent mind in history and enslave them. Much like he did with you."

 _Oh, that is Dr. Andonuts… and he's been brainwashed,_ Ness realized with a chill. _That could be me when I wake up tomorrow. But no, Porky wouldn't take me while I'm asleep. If he had wanted to brainwash me, he would have done it already._

 _So why hasn't he?_

"Well, I was thinking that I should get a check up too," Ness said truthfully. "I want to figure out how well this collar thing actually works." _And if Porky installed something else in my body that I didn't know about._ "Can't I just wait in line behind you?"

"The doctors here only deal with chimeras. You're not a chimera, you're 100% human. Why would you need a checkup?" Bud asked him. "Your collar isn't meant for you to figure out."

"But what if it doesn't work?" Ness asked. "I think that I should know that. After all, I would be able to help the pigmask army far more if I could use PSI."

"You are to earn your PSI," Bud said. "Unless there really is something wrong with the collar I can't grant you this request." Then he paused for a minute before he said something else. "You're Ness, right? Do you know why Master Porky took a child and made him a commander? The more I think about it the less sense it makes to me. You are at a stage in your life where your emotions rule the majority of your rational thinking, so it would not be wise to have an impulsive person be in charge... But I must not question Master Porky himself or he will punish me."

 _Wow, he's rude to teenagers,_ Ness thought, _But I guess that he has a point. I probably don't send a good message about my age group._

"Bud, you do understand humans, right?" Ness asked quietly.

"It's not in my place to understand humans. You are very complex creatures, and are therefore very hard to understand," Bud answered.

"But you understand some of our basic attributes, yes? Like our ability to feel desire, to _want_ something."

"Yes, I am aware of that much," Bud answered.

"Do you understand jealousy?" Ness asked. "How we humans feel bad when someone else has something that we want?"

"That feeling is not illogical. Even among animals and other robots that feeling is very basic. I've seen Lil' Miss Marshmallow attack a robot just for touching Master Porky's special yo-yo," Bud answered.

"Well, I lived in the same town as Porky when we both were kids," Ness continued. "He was always jealous of me."

"Master Porky was jealous?" Bud asked Ness. "Of you? What was the reason?"

"I always had everything that he wanted," Ness answered. "I was relatively athletic and popular. I had a family that truly cared about me. Porky's father is a snake of a man. He's venomous, and I tried not to ever cross him. But Porky didn't have a choice. So he ended up becoming envious of what I had. That's why he hates me. That's why he captured me. I'm a prisoner, Bud, the same way that he was to his father. Porky wants me to _hurt like he did._ "

Ness wasn't sure if he should have told Bud all of that, but he couldn't doubt himself now. Ness had always preferred to cut through the intrigue and state the truth. In the past, that style of thinking had made him many friends… and enemies.

Bud didn't speak for a minute, appearing to analyze what Ness' words.

"I don't think Master Porky hates you, Ness," He said. "I've seen how he can hate, and if he truly hated you then you would not have been a pure human commander standing before me now."

"I thought of that," Ness whispered, "But I'm still not sure. I still think that he despises me; he's tried to kill me more than once. I think that pride is holding him back from brainwashing me. He wants to break me without using his fancy little machines."

"It is true that Master Porky prefers to watch his victims squirm," Bud admitted. "I do not claim to understand what happened between you and Master Porky as I have not been informed of your past. But I do have a question for you, Ness." Bud pointed at him. "Why do you feel the need to talk to me so much? There are plenty of other humans for you to interact with here."

 _"_ _Other humans,"_ Ness thought. _He's starting to see himself as a person!_

"I told you," Ness whispered. "Nobody else cares about you, so I must." He paused, taking a deep breath. _Honest, I must be honest with him!_ "But there's another reason. When I talked to Fassad, he implied that I act quite similar to how you did before you were brainwashed. So I'm hoping to save you… or at least scare myself into maintaining my emotions. My greatest fear is becoming someone like you, Bud."

"I don't understand what you mean by being brainwashed. However, you have told me that before." Bud said. "It's not so bad; you don't have so much emotion to hold you down and you can do your job more effectively without sentimental things clouding your judgement."

 _How can I explain to him how horrifying his actions seem?_ Ness wondered.

"What don't you understand about the brainwashing?" Ness asked. "You were a human with my personality, and then Dr. Andonuts messed with your mind, turning you into a chimera. What part of that confuses you?"

"Don't get me wrong; I know what brainwashing is," Bud answered. "But I don't understand why Fassad would tell you that. I had always been this way since I was created."

"Fassad didn't tell me that," Ness said, looking Bud straight in the eye. "Porky did."

 _Actually, he kinda helped me figure it out by myself, but it's close enough._

"Why must you insist on calling him 'Porky'?" Bud sighed. "And I can tell you believe that is true. However, I can't believe it myself without any definite proof."

The mechanical boy looked up at a wall before he said, "It's breakfast time now. All soldiers who are able to eat must head to the cafeteria."

Ness wanted to tear his hair out. How could Bud _not_ believe him with that lie detector of his?

"Bud," Ness said, turning away. "Do you care about yourself?"

"I care enough not to have a malfunction when I am needed," Bud answered. "... But if you mean on a more sentimental reason, then I can't say that I do."

"That's the problem," Ness said. "Fassad and Porky destroyed you, but you don't care enough to resist. I suppose that's why I feel like I have to care for you. It's like I'm your mother and you're a stupid little teenager… which isn't so far from the truth. Geez, now I know how _my_ mom felt when I acted reckless."

Ness sighed and looked back at Bud, who seemed to be in deep thought. "Your… mother…?" It was as if mentioning his mother caused some kind of reaction in Bud that Ness hadn't seen before. "You… have a mother… What… what is she like?"

"I won't be able to describe her, not fully, but I'll try my best," Ness answered. "She's dedicated. You know how I kind of wander around and don't focus on accomplishing anything? She's exactly the opposite. She gets down to a task and lets nothing stop her from finishing. It was… touching, especially when those tasks involved making something for us. She always had an abundance of energy. After going to school and finishing my homework, I would often feel so tired that I wouldn't want to do anything. But she made up for that. Even after working on her projects all day, she still had enough energy to deal with me. She told me that it was okay that I didn't feel motivated, that kindness and thoughtfulness meant more than what we actually accomplish… and like I said, this is coming from someone who accomplished a _lot._ " Ness sighed, feeling an ache eat away at his heart. "I really miss her."

"... Mother…" Bud whispered. "... Ness… we should head to the cafeteria before they run out of food again. New recruits always eat more than their share."

"All right!" Ness shouted. "I'll race you there!"

"Race?" Bud looked at him in confusion. "Is there a competition coming that I was not informed of?"

"Yeah, the first one that gets there wins!" Ness shouted as he took off running.

 _I'm still only 14,_ Ness thought. _I can act like a dumb kid, right?_

Ness almost crashed into a few Pigmasks, but he made it to the cafeteria without smashing into any of them—although he heard multiple squeals of anger.

"Sorry!" he would always shout, not feeling sorry at all.

The cafeteria was just as dull and gray as the hallways, but at least it was more lively with people. Many of them have removed their masks so they can eat, making it easier for Ness to see them as actual people. There was a long line for food, and it looked like one of those 'all-you-can-eat' buffets. There were an absurd amount of greasy and unhealthy food being served.

"I was not aware that I stumbled into a McDonalds," Ness observed. "I swear, these people will get heart attacks by age 30."

"That doesn't concern them." A voice spoke up from behind Ness. "It tastes good and gives them weight, that's all they care about."

Ness turned around to see Bud standing right behind him.

"Hah!" he exclaimed. "I beat you in the race! But why would you want to put on weight in fat? It makes your body slower and less maneuverable. It doesn't really give much power, either. You know physics, right? Force equals mass times acceleration? Yeah, they have more mass, but their fat bodies can't accelerate as much, unless they intend to fall on someone."

"Well since you won, what do you win?" Bud asked to Ness's victory. "And it's one of Master Porky's rules; you have to be fat to join the army. And they do fight using weapons and their body weights. It's very effective, even Fassad fights using his body weight."

"Porky is _that_ insecure about his own weight?" Ness asked. "Because building body fat does _not_ help them out. They should put that weight on in muscle. It gives them all of the strength without any of the drawbacks."

 _Wait, why do I even care?_ Ness thought. _If those pigmasks are less effective, good for me!_

And then Ness looked at the pile of available food.

 _...Oh._

"That is not my concern. This is what Master Porky wants," Bud answered. "You still haven't answered my question about what you get for winning."

"I get a sense of satisfaction," Ness answered haughtily, and then returned to his normal voice. "You see, we humans evolved to act competitive so that we would push each other to become stronger. Therefore, we like beating other people in any sort of competition."

"Unless the person in question is sensitive and doesn't like competition." Bud suddenly said. "... I don't know where that came from." He shook his head. "Ness, shall we take our meal and take a seat now?"

Ness scanned the buffet.

"Is there anything that _won't_ make my arteries complain at how much crap they have to deal with?" Ness asked. "Like… is there any fruit? Heck, I would even eat _vegetables,_ and those things are best used as torture devices."

"Vegetables are torture devices?" Bud said in confusion. "I failed to see how… unless you use it to suffocate someone. If you're looking for healthier foods then you'd have to ask the chef to make some for you. I normally just take plain porridge."

"I was kidding about the vegetables being torture devices," Ness said, "And I'll do that. Do I have to wait in line, or can I flaunt my commander powers and go right up to the front like the spoiled brat I am?"

"I don't know." Bud said. "I normally don't eat here."

"Oh," Ness said. _Then where does he eat?_ "I guess I'll try to go up. I mean, the worst that they can say is 'no', right?"

He walked past some pigmasks and approached one of the chefs.

"Ahem," Ness said. "Spoiled commander kid speaking. Do you have any… healthy alternatives to this hellish junk food pit? Or are you guys retired cooks for Taco Bell who can only make stuff that the human body refuses to digest?"

"... Kid, we can make other kinds of food," The chef said. "But watch that tongue of yours. Don't make the person serving your food angry."

"Well, I'm the commander, so I can be a total jerk if I want to," Ness said, trying his best to sound bratty. He decided that he'd had enough and dropped the look. "Sorry if I offended you. I really didn't mean to insult you… at least, not any more than I satirized myself. Would you mind making some meat that doesn't have grease on it?"

"I can't guarantee that I can, but I will see what I can do… Commander." The chef said.

"Thanks!" Ness exclaimed. "And sorry to make you do extra work. If you want, you can just call me 'Ness'."

Ness turned to see if Bud would follow him, but to his surprise Bud had already sat down at a table.

"Hey, Bud!" Ness shouted. "Why aren't you participating in this buffet? It's a character-building experience!"

"Keep your voice down." Bud hissed. "I don't eat here, okay? And in a public place like this, my image is to stay as a mindless mechanical chimera. Which means I am not to eat when there are eyes around."

 _Oops,_ Ness thought, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"Oh, right," Ness said to nobody in particular, slapping his forehead. "I forgot what mindless mechanical chimera meant again. I totally thought that you had emotions for a sec, there. Aren't I such a klutz!"

 _Hopefully that makes me seem weird instead of Bud, but I really have no experience with this,_ Ness thought.

"Most of my soldiers don't know that I actually do have to eat. However, I am not to appear human or need human needs. I shouldn't even require most of what you humans do. I find that to be a rather troubling glitch in my system, if I weren't half biologically human," Bud said.

 _Well, he doesn't seem to be too concerned about keeping this conversation going in front of all of the pigmasks,_ Ness thought.

Bud then pointed at a couple of pigmasks talking to each other at a table nearby. "They are often in their own world while eating. It's very easy to listen to their conversation. This is one of those times I observe human behavior. It's amazing how many lies they come up with to make themselves look superior to the others."

"Yup," Ness said. "Humans tend to adjust to their settings. Crappy places attract crappy people."

"This is not a bathroom." Bud said, taking what Ness said literally again.

"I mean crappy as in bad," Ness clarified with a smile. "It's more visually descriptive. But yeah, it doesn't surprise me that most pigmasks are rotten, at least on the outside."

Bud didn't answer that, and he didn't have to. The chef from earlier came over to their table, looking rather nervous at the two before setting down a plate with steak on it. "I only know how to cook steak with as little grease as possible, sir. I hope you are pleased with it."

Ness offered an amiable smile.

"This will do quite nicely," he said. "Thank you! It really means a lot that you're willing to take individual requests from a bratty kid, even if I _am_ a commander."

While Ness began digging into the steak, he heard some of the pigmasks passing by talking to each other rather loudly.

"Did you hear? Someone in our group is going to get promoted to Major rank soon, and it's all because they found some rare clay to buff up the Claymen."

"Really? I heard they discovered the sleeping dragon that's under the island."

Ness snorted. This pigmask believed in a sleeping dragon that lived under the… _wait. I'm on an island? I feel like someone's told me that before, but I can't remember it._

"Are those people telling the truth?" Ness asked.

"Yes and no." Bud answered. "They're not being all honest about the promotion as it is more of a guess than anything. But someone in their group did find out vital information about Master Porky's goal."

"And what is Porky's goal?" Ness asked. "And how do you know that the promotion thing is a guess? Can you detect that as well?"

"It's MASTER Porky." Bud sighed. "And not normally no, but after spending a lot of time here I've learned to read different kinds of truth. Not all of it, I still have trouble finding out if something's true if someone uses the truth but hides most of it." He gave Ness a look that implied he knew that Ness had done this before.

 _Oops._

"You didn't answer my question about Porky's goal," Ness said.

"I'm unsure if I'm allowed to discuss the information with you right now," Bud answered.

"I suppose that's fair. Maybe I'll ask Porky himself."

"You are a very stubborn person," Bud said. "And very confusing. You seem to act differently with other people."

"What do you mean?" Ness asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You never refer to our master as 'Master Porky' or 'King P', you always seem to want to talk to me even though anyone else would just walk away after a while, and you seem to try to act like a cheerful teenager with me but then change to a stuck up brat to the chef, and insult Dr. Andonuts," Bud explained.

"I never refer to Porky by those names because he was my friend, and I'm still hoping that there's a part of him left," Ness replied, his normally cheery tone turning slightly annoyed. "I've already told you why I talk to you more than the others. And as for the chef, I treated him better than most other officers do. I really didn't think that he'd care that I made fun of him a little, especially considering that I wasn't _nearly_ as condescending as most would act. And Dr. Andonuts deserves what I do to him."

"I wasn't asking why you were acting like that, just pointing out why I called you stubborn." Bud answered, looking down at Ness's plate. "... Does that taste good?"

"Yes," Ness answered, still finding it difficult to act cheery.

"Is steak your favorite food? You seem to enjoy it a lot." Bud asked, still watching him eat.

"Yes," he answered again.

"You seem to have stop talking a lot." Bud said. "Unusual for you."

"I guess I'm just annoyed," Ness said, poking at his steak.

"Annoyed at what?" Bud asked.

"Well, I've been trying to help you out, believe it or not. And then the first thing that _you_ say to me is that I'm stubborn and bratty. I know that you said other things before, but that was your brainwashing talking. I know that I shouldn't feel annoyed that you spoke your mind, but I still do. Maybe I'm just a weirdo."

"You're emotional." Bud said. "Most teenagers are." Then he gave a small frown. "... I spoke my mind? I'm afraid I don't quite understand. I thought I've always spoke what came to mind."

"Well, you seem to have a robotic way of formulating speech," Ness said. "But that time, I really felt like it was _you_ speaking rather than your emotionless shell. That's what made it hurt."

"Oh… It's that glitch again." Bud said before standing up. "I have to go to Dr. Andonuts to get this fixed."

"No!" Ness shouted desperately. "Don't go to him! Please!"

"What? What's wrong? If I have a glitch I have to go to him to fix me." Bud answered, looking at Ness in confusion and a small hint of concern.

"There's no glitch!" Ness shouted, looking for a way to convince Bud. "This is who you are. Please, don't go to him… please don't break what little humanity you gained in the past couple of days!"

"Who I am? Humanity? These are the glitches, Ness! I'm not supposed to have those. And besides… you just told me I hurt you because of it. I'm not supposed to hurt my frie- I mean my allies." Bud frowned as he began to look a little panicked.

"I would rather get hurt by who you are then see you fall back into your empty self," Ness hissed, his desperation increasing tenfold. "And the only glitch is that you're emotionless in the first place! You're a freaking human, Bud!"

 _Not good…_ Ness thought. _I can feel the cage falling around Bud… and me. I always get aggressive when I'm desperate. I hope that doesn't turn him off._

"Ness, sit back down." Bud suddenly said. "This isn't your concern. If you must talk about this emotionally, then… do it in the hallway."

"Done," Ness agreed, calming down a bit as he took his seat. There was still a way out! "But we have to do it before you go to Dr. Andonuts, all right?"

After that little outburst, the Pigmasks were all staring at them. It was then Ness figured out why Bud told him to sit down and to talk to him in the hallway. The Pigmasks began whispering to each other, most likely talking about them.

"Ah, yes, none of them can resist gossip," Ness muttered. "How petty."

* * *

Later, the two commanders stood in the empty hallway. Ness had finished his steak and practically pushed the robotic boy into the hall to finish their earlier conversation.

"Is this really necessary?" Bud asked him, frowning a bit.

"Yes!" Ness exclaimed. "It's only your life that's at stake here, Bud."

"My life? Okay, you really are emotional." Bud sighed. "Look, maybe something like this is normal for you, but I'm not supposed to have human emotions or thoughts. This is a big glitch for me."

"I'm telling you," Ness said, trying to contain his anger. "The only glitch is that you're emotionless in the first place. You're human, just like me! I can tell by now that you had a unique, complex mind just like I do!" _Not that my mind is all that complex…_

"I…" Bud frowned at him. "You… you really seem to strongly believe that." he put his mechanical hand over his face. "I'm not sure if I should believe you. Everyone else always told me I'm just a mechanical chimera soldier."

"Please believe me," Ness whispered. "I know that I don't have any logic that will sway you, but…" Ness closed his eyes. "This is going to sound selfish, but I don't think that I could watch you destroy yourself over and over again whenever you come close to recovering your humanity."

"You're very sentimental, Ness," Bud said as he turned and began walking.

"Bud?" Ness said, sounding as small and helpless as he felt. "Bud, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to return to my room to await orders from Master Porky." Bud answered. "But for now… why don't you go ask Master Porky about your first assignment?"

"I will, but I want you to promise something to me," Ness whispered, feeling the weight of his eyelids overwhelm him. In less than a second, he saw only darkness. "Promise that you'll talk to me before you approach Dr. Andonuts about your supposed malfunction, all right?"

"Hmm… I've never had to make promises before." Bud said. "I shouldn't make a kind of promise that could cost me in the future. But if it means that much to a sentimental person like you, then I will try to keep it."

"Thank you!" Ness exclaimed, his eyes popping back open. He nearly jumped for joy. "I think that I'll head over to _Master_ Porky's. Have a great day, Bud. Try to enjoy yourself!"

When Ness made it back to Porky's throne room, he took a deep breath to prepare himself in another conversation with his twisted, former neighbor. He once again gazed at the grey walls and sighed. Truly, how could _anyone_ resist the enthralling grey?

 _Focus._

Ness shook his head, steeling himself as he walked into Pokey's room.

"The other commander told me to report to you for my mission," Ness said with a characteristic smile. "So… here I am. Do I need to explain any more?"

"Ah Ness, it's good to see you're starting to fit into the role of being my commander," Porky wheezed. "As a matter of fact I was just about to call for someone for a particular assignment."

 _Fitting into the role of a commander?_ Ness thought. _Is he joking or does he actually believe my facade?_

"What assignment might that be?" Ness asked, feeling a bit disappointed that Porky didn't react to his sunny attitude.

"How well can you calm an angry mob?" Porky asked him. "I will have your first job as the new commander to taking care of the annoying labor strikers at the Clayman Factory."

Ness wanted to say "no," but Porky didn't seem to give him that option.

"I've never tried to calm a mob before," Ness said. "So I have no idea how it will go."

"Just use your sunny attitude to calm them. After all you're good at making _friends,_ " Porky wheezed with a hint of bitterness.

"So, what are they going on strike for?" Ness asked. "I require some background information to be able to connect with them. That's how I make friends."

"Your co-commander should give you all the details. It's hard for me to talk for very long." Porky coughed and wheezed. "He will be there to keep an eye on you… and to help you if you need it."

"How much power do I have?" Ness asked. "Can I negotiate with them? Because otherwise, I don't see much that I could do."

"You can still use your healing PSI… what was it called? Lifeup? So if they tear you apart you'll still be able to live." Porky said.

"You didn't answer my question," Ness said.

"Heh… well if you feel you must negotiate with them in someway, you can. However, you may have to threaten them and make them squirm." Porky said sinisterly. "I'm kidding. You're much too goodie-goodie to do something like that, and you're not as emotionless as my robot slave. There's a building on a mountain near the factory, it's called Club Titiboo. Tell them about that place and that they are granted free tickets to go there if they just do their jobs and stop complaining so much."

 _Ah, I get it,_ Ness thought. _He dumps money into a club rather than giving them raises because a night at the club keeps them dumb and happy while a raise allows them to do what they want._

"Got it," Ness said, pretending to look relieved. "So… er… how do I get there?"

"The co-commander will personally take you there himself. I hope you like flying, Ness," Porky wheezed before he started laughing.

 _Well, I thought that Dr. Andonuts' flying machine was fun to pilot, even though I crashed it,_ Ness thought. _Flying doesn't scare me too much._

"Now go wait out the window, he should catch you," Porky suddenly said.

Ness blinked at that before a trap door opened under him and he found himself falling down a slide that lead out to an open window and into the sky. He closed his eyes, feeling the wind whip past him. Strangely, he didn't feel afraid. After all, he would only die if Bud failed to catch him. He almost wished for that to happen. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about anyone else…

Ness saw he was getting close to the ground, but at the last second a blur and a loud rocket-like sound past him and he found himself in the air. Blinking, Ness noticed the same uniform with bat-like mechanical wings behind them, and Bud's upper face was obscured by a gray helmet.

"Thanks for the catch," Ness said, smiling as the wind batted against his face.

"We will be at our destination in 20 minutes. Hang on tight until then," Bud said back to him as they flew over the horizon.


	7. Chapter 7: Rage

**Connor: Hey, guys! Sorry that we didn't update last week. I was feeling kinda tired and burnt out. I'll do my best to update on a weekly schedule from now on! :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Hey, you don't have to hurt yourself. But at least we managed to update it this week!**

 **Connor: Hurt myself? That wasn't really the intent. xD But yeah, here we are. Since I don't have much else to say (besides moaning about college apps and how they suck the soul out of poor, unsuspecting high school students), shall we move onto the reviews? Or do you have something else to say?**

 **DarkFoxKit: Not really, let's go ahead and answer the reviews!**

 **Shimo no ko:**

 **Connor: Heh, glad you think that Ness is cool. :) Honestly, I think that he could be way better (because while he does have flaws, they're kinda piled under a lot of his exterior), but this is kinda my not-tryhard story so I'm not going to worry as much. And you may not have to wonder for much longer… ;)**

 **A Fan:**

 **DarkFoxKit: I don't think uneventful chapters are usually that bad myself, it really depends on the writer though.**

 **…** **Err… like you said, this is fanfiction and well, there's not a lot of realism in video games anyways. ^^' I honestly don't have much more to say other than that, unless Connor has something to say about it.**

 **Connor:**

 **Edgeworth (in an intentionally snotty Edgeworth way): Mr. Wright, you the concept of** ** _basic_** **physics. If Ness slammed into the ground, he would most certainly go splat. But since Claus decelerates him over the course of a second… let's just say that he has to apply** ** _far_** **less force to ensure that Ness does not hit the ground. A human is easily capable of surviving this. Also, Ness has possibly hit terminal velocity by then, so he may not be falling as fast as you think (no, I don't really know what I'm talking about. xD The know-it-all attitude comes from Edgeworth. I mean no offense. :D).**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:**

 **Connor: Nope, that wouldn't be a paradox, actually, because you're promising never to promise something** ** _ever again,_** **which implies that you're only talking about the future and not the present. And… uh… we didn't update last Wednesday at this point in time. Does that count?**

 **Lotta filler. Coulda been shorter and still contained all of the same information, which makes for better writing. But since I'm not getting paid… I don't see any reason to cut those worthless scenes out. Heh, I was writing Ness so I know what you mean about Bud's denial. xD And thanks. :) I've always wanted to write a cheesy entrance like that.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Dr. Andonuts isn't exactly brainwashed, but something did happen to him. Of course, I won't spoil it. Evil glasses glint, huh? They're kinda interesting. ^^' I suppose Connor have fun using Ness a lot. XD And yeah, Claus does remember Hinawa, at least a little bit.**

 **Connor: Yeah… I don't really like vegetables. xD At least I get to make a joke out of it (or possibly raise concern about a serious moral issue! o.0). And I share a lot of your views about Claus… which were projected through Ness. And yes, first time can be the charm. It's always the best when that happens. :) And I make no promises about Flint because I control him less than half of the time.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Flint seems to be the type of father who's strong and silent, but can break easy if something really bad happens, at least that's how he seems to be portrayed as. ^^' And anyways, good to see you caught the Mystery Dungeon reference. XD**

 **Guest:** **Heh, guess you won't have to wait any longer.**

 **adricarra:** **Well, glad to see you're back and enjoying it so far. Yeah, Pigmasks seem to ruin everything, huh? Lucas has a dark side it seems. X3 Lucas and Ninen will be fine with Flint… maybe. Yeah, Ness wants Claus to be more human, and Claus doesn't know it's natural to feel what he feels.**

 **Connor: Yup, it's also really cool for me to write Ness trying to turn Bud into a human. Ness honestly kinda confuses me because he doesn't think of himself as determined or hard-working but he is in a lot of regards haha. But I'm rambling. Glad that you like it! :)**

 **Guest:** **WE'RE TRYING TO UPDATE IT EVERY WEEK, TWO WEEKS IF WE HAVE TO. DON'T WORRY CAPS ARE FINE.**

* * *

Ninten looked back and forth between Lucas and this older man with the cowboy getup. Something about the man made Ninten uneasy. He appeared quite thin, indicating that he probably didn't eat as much as he should. A tense atmosphere surrounded him.

"Lucas… who's this boy beside you?" The man asked, looking at Ninten.

"This is Ninten," Lucas explained, seeming hesitant. "He's… a friend."

"Ninten? I've never seen him before. Is he with the outsiders who came here?" The man's tone made Ninten feel more uneasy.

"Do you think that I would make friends with them, father?" Lucas asked, annoyance seeping into his voice. "Ninten woke up in the Sunshine Forest with amnesia. He's really nice and I decided to help him."

Something about Lucas' tone dared his father to challenge him. It made Ninten feel uncomfortable. He wasn't even sure if he should say anything; he wished he was anywhere but here right now.

"Lucas…" The man sounded tired. "I don't know anything about him, and what if he's lying about the amnesia? He could be trying to get close to you so you'd trust him."

"And why would he do that?" Lucas asked. "I'm a nobody, father. And I can tell that Ninten is sincere. You can't just fake amnesia for days without slipping up once or twice."

"Look, I'm just saying you have to be careful with people, especially ones we don't know," The man said. "And what is he doing here anyways? He doesn't even know Hinawa."

"He doesn't know this place," Lucas whispered. "He hangs around me because he doesn't have anywhere else to go."

"... I see. Well if he's really in a situation like you say he is, then I guess it's understandable you want to help him, but you need to be more careful." The man tilted his hat. "Where does he live?"

"I… er… I actually offered to let him stay at our house," Lucas said hastily, as if the words would carry less weight if he went through them more quickly. He looked up to his father with a mixture of hope and fear in his eyes.

"..." The man was quiet for a minute, as if he was processing what just came out of his son's mouth. "You're letting this stranger stay at our house? Lucas! Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"Well, I lived," Lucas muttered irritably. "If he wanted to gut me—and I don't know why he would—he had his chance."

Ninten felt horrified at the thought of gutting anyone, least of all someone who cared for him for these past few days.

"Lucas… ugh…" The man rubbed his head under his hat. "You are just too soft for your own good. Why did you offer a stranger to stay at our house? Was it because you were hoping to replace your brother?"

"What if I was?" Lucas whispered. "What if I was trying to find someone else to care about? What is it to you?"

Ninten really wished he could disappear right now; he hadn't meant to cause trouble between Lucas and his father.

"I'm not going to let you replace your brother, Lucas," The man said firmly. "You better get back to the house. I don't want to disrespect Hinawa by discussing this in front of her grave."

"Maybe mother wants me to have a life!" Lucas shouted. "I think that I should be allowed to have a friend! Ninten needs our help, father! You know how greedy the townspeople have gotten. You tell me how disrespectful these townspeople in the same breath that you tell me not to act kind!"

"Lucas, don't talk back at me like that!" The man raised his voice at him. "We don't know much about this boy and inviting him over and then trying to replace your brother like that is unacceptable!"

"Maybe if you talked to me like another human then I wouldn't have to yell," Lucas hissed. "But no, everything has to be _my_ fault!"

The man turned around and began walking, "You want to act like this? Fine. But I won't let Hinawa watch us tear each other apart like this over a boy we don't even know."

"You always act like this," Lucas said with a cold smile. "You always have to act like I'm the rowdy child even when you're the one who's getting annoyed at me for actually having a life." He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Leave if you want. But you won't shame me into crawling back."

When the man walked out of earshot, Ninten decided to finally speak up. "Lucas, I'm sorry that I caused some trouble between you and your father…"

Lucas sighed.

"You didn't cause anything, Ninten. The problem isn't you; it's the fact that we don't agree. Father won't accept me as anything other than a copy of himself." He shook his head. "But I try not to let it get to me. That was… an unfortunate incident. I'm sorry that you had to see us act like that."

"He… seemed really unhealthy. Has he been eating at all?" Ninten asked worriedly.

"I don't ask and he doesn't say," Lucas answered with a shrug.

"It's kind of scary, both of you don't seem to want anything to do with each other." Ninten frowned. "Has he always been like this?"

"Nah," Lucas said. "At first, he was fine. But then mother died, and something inside of him broke. He turned into the person who you just saw. At first I felt sorry, but I don't anymore. He made his choices, just like I made mine… and just like Claus made his. Now we're all dealing with the consequences."

"This isn't right," Ninten said, looking at where the man was walking to. "I can't stand to watch a father neglecting his child like this." His hands curled into tight fists, something bitter triggering in his mind. "At least let me try talking to him!"

"You're free to do what you want," Lucas said, "But I wouldn't advise talking to him. It would probably make things worse. But that isn't going to stop you, is it?"

"Maybe it would make things worse…" Ninten frowned. "But I just can't stand by like this."

The scarf wearing boy quickly ran after the man and called out, "Hey, wait! Please! Uh… Mr… Lucas's dad, can we talk?"

The man stiffened.

"The name's Flint," he said dangerously. "And I don't like to talk with strangers."

"I know, but please hear me out," Ninten said, trying not to let Flint intimidate him. "Please don't blame Lucas for this, he was only trying to help. I know I have no business with your family, and I know you're taking what happened with the people you love hard, but don't you think maybe you should see what you still have instead of wandering aimlessly looking for someone that may not even be there anymore?"

Flint's eyes narrowed. He took a step forward, looking at Ninten threateningly.

"Listen, _kid,_ " he spat. "I don't care who you are. You have no idea what you're saying. You don't understand how it feels to lose something so deep."

"The pain of loss," Ninten said softly, still standing his ground. "I understand it well enough. Remember what Lucas said? I have amnesia, I can't remember the people I love. My friends, my family, anyone I've came in contact with, they're all gone. I'm all alone with no familiar face in sight. You still have Lucas; you still have someone. Don't push him away or you'll live to regret it."

Flint pointed a finger at Ninten. It seemed to contain all of the spite that was bottled up in his vessel of a body.

" _You_ don't understand," he retorted. "You think that forgetting is the same thing as losing. You don't understand the nightmares. You don't understand the scars. So stop pretending like you do!" Flint's voice now boomed loudly enough to leave Ninten's ears ringing. "Do you think that I _like_ going out day after day, looking for my son? Everything that I do, I do for Claus, Lucas, and Hinawa. We can go back to our happy family, if I could _only find Claus._ So leave me alone, kid. And don't step foot in my house again."

"If you've spent two years looking for him in the same place, then chances are he's not there anymore! You can't expect things to just go back to the way they were before!" Ninten argued back, feeling tears roll down his cheeks.

"Stop pretending like you can argue this!" Flint roared. "Stop acting like you understand! You have _no_ idea how it feels! Now will you leave, or do I need to _make_ you leave?"

"That is _enough!_ " Ninten heard from behind him. He turned to see Lucas, his cheeks flushed with crimson rage. "You will _not_ threaten my friend like that, father!"

"Lucas, why are you defending him? He doesn't know the pain we feel and yet he has the gall to argue with me about this!" Flint snapped, pointing at Ninten, who was trying to wipe away the tears.

"Maybe you think that," Lucas said, a sneer revealing more malice in Lucas than Ninten thought possible. "Maybe you hate him. But I won't stand by and watch you threaten him."

"Lucas, can't you see I'm doing everything I can just to provide for us and still look for Claus?" Flint frowned at his son. "I can't afford another mouth to feed, especially someone we barely even know. Take him to the Yado Inn or something, but he's not staying with us, we don't have enough of those DP to take care of another child anyways."

"T-then I'll earn DP so I won't leech off of you!" Ninten spoke up suddenly. "Or maybe I'll live in the woods if that'll make you feel better."

"No," Lucas said, turning to Ninten. "Don't cave into his demands! He's trying to guilt trip you. This isn't your fault, Ninten!"

"B-but… we lost our job at the bakery because the Pigmask bought everything. I don't want to make you spend more than you can afford," Ninten said back to Lucas.

"Well _I_ sure as heck don't want you to live alone in the forest!" Lucas countered.

"Maybe that's where he belongs," Flint grumbled. "You said you found him there? Then maybe he lived there before he fell on his head and forgot. Or maybe he was meant to be a spy before he was clumsy enough to forget his mission."

Ninten looked away, he knew he couldn't deny that because he had no idea who he is or where he even came from. He looked at Lucas and was surprised to find a cold smile plastered on his face.

"Ah, your insults have dropped from petty to inconsequential, father," Lucas said, his icy eyes betraying a condescending humor. "You have the wrong idea if you think that Ninten's _past living conditions_ will stop me from helping him."

"Then what do you plan on doing, Lucas? I speak the truth when I say we can't support another child," Flint said, almost as coldly back.

"So if Claus were still alive, you would still throw one of us out?" Lucas asked.

"Claus is a different story Lucas, and you know it! Once I find him I'll have more time to make more DP for all of us, but if you bring that boy with you then I won't have time to make DP and search for your brother!" Flint snapped, almost sounding insulted that Lucas would suggest such a thing.

"So it's not that you _can't_ support another child, you just _don't want to,_ " Lucas said, his cold smile refusing to leave his face.

"Lucas for all I know this kid could be used for an advertisement for those blasted happy boxes! I'm not going to help someone who brought in the greed in the first place! Now stop arguing with me and go back home!"

"You're only telling me to stop because I'm winning," Lucas said. "With every comment I make, you have to give up more ground. Your claims are not grounded in logic, father. Your next fallacy is so obvious that I don't think I even need to point it out."

Ninten slowly backed away from the two arguing with each other, he had never seen so much hostility between family before, not since… not since… Ninten blinked. _Not since what? What was I even thinking about? It doesn't matter… This just feels like it's my fault… maybe I was a bad person before, I don't even know._

Ninten walked over to the tombstone and sighed. Over here, he could barely hear Lucas' and Flint's invective words. "Hinawa, right? It's very nice to meet you, ma'am. I only wish it could've been in person. I wish I could help your bitter husband and son from this, but I'm only an outsider. If only there was someway to help bring peace to them again, maybe the same peace they had when you were alive…"

 _"_ _Ninten…"_

"Hmm?" Ninten blinked, looking around. _That's odd, I thought I heard someone saying my name…_

 _"_ _Ninten, it is nice to meet you as well…"_

"What? Who's there?" Ninten asked as he looked around for the person speaking to him.

 _"_ _Name… my name is Hinawa. Urg… words are so difficult to voice in this form."_

"Hinawa…?" Ninten slowly turned back to the tombstone. "... Yeah, I am losing it. There's no way someone's who's dead can actually communicate with me!"

 _"_ _Just like… dogs can't?"_ The voice had a touch of humor to it.

Ninten took a step back from the tombstone as if expecting a zombie to come out of it and attack him. "... Uh… w-why are you talking to me? I-I mean if you're really Hinawa and not a figment of my messed up imagination then why talk to me? I'm just a lost kid with no memory of his own."

 _"_ _A lost kid with incredible power… power that might help my son."_

"Power? I don't have any power…" Ninten frowned in confusion. "But… if I could help Lucas… I would. I just don't know if I can… his dad seems to hate me just for being near him. And there aren't any jobs open for us right now." He rubbed the temples of his head. _Listen to me, I'm insane! I'm talking to a tombstone and a dead person!_

 _"_ _I see. You are… correct about my husband. I hoped that your power could help. So vast… I do not understand it."_

"Wait… that voice I heard when I woke up in Sunshine Forest… and in my dreams… was that you?" Ninten's eyes widened a bit. "You've been trying to talk to me all this time? I-if you could really talk to the living, then why not your own husband or son? Lucas thinks talking to animals is NORMAL! I'm sure he'd be ecstatic to hear his mother's voice!"

 _"_ _Yes, that was me. I tried to talk to Lucas, but… I could not. I do not know why. Perhaps…?"_ The voice trailed off.

"I still think I'm insane… but if you're really Hinawa's spirit talking to me… then could you please tell me what to do? I feel responsible for what's happening with Lucas and his father right now. Is there anything I can do to make things better?" Ninten asked softly.

 _"_ _I do not know,"_ The voice answered sadly. _"I was desperate when I first spoke to you. I hoped that your powers could help. But you don't even know about them…"_

"You keep saying I have powers…" Ninten frowned. "Wait, do you know anything about me? Anything at all?"

Footsteps could be heard coming up behind him and Hinawa's voice began fading away. Ninten frowned, having trouble hearing her voice. He shut his eyes in an attempt to concentrate better. "W-wait, don't go! You still haven't answered my question!"

 _"_ _I saw that… you were carried off of a ship by pig people. That is all that I know. I am sorry."_

 _Pig people…? Was I kidnapped by them? Were they the reason I lost my memory?_ Ninten thought to himself as the footsteps were right behind him before they stopped.

"Ninten," the person said. It was Lucas' voice. "Since my father is a xenophobic _idiot,_ we are going to the factory."

Ninten opened his eyes before he said, "The factory? You mean the one that everyone was talking about? … But we don't have enough DP for a ticket, do we?"

"We can walk on the tracks! The trains hardly ever run, and we'll be off to the side for most of the journey."

"But I talked to Fuel about that, he said it's very dangerous. A-are you sure you want to go there, Lucas?" Ninten asked in concern.

"Yes!" Lucas exclaimed. "I'm not going to leave you alone, no matter what my father says. After all, he's a waste of oxygen. I bet his carbon footprint has a bigger impact on the world than he does."

"Erm… Lucas, I know you're mad at your dad, but please don't call him that," Ninten said softly. "I know he's a big jerk with a lot of hot air, but the man's pretty much broken inside and in denial that everything will go back to the way it was if he finds Claus."

"But he's still a waste of oxygen," Lucas argued.

"Nobody's a waste of oxygen, Lucas. Even the most evil person in the world deserves to live out his life, maybe to get redemption. Because once they die, it's over." Ninten said seriously. "People aren't born evil, but things happen that makes them that way. It's up to them and the people who cares for them to help pull them out of that dark hole they've found themselves in."

"But father refuses to pull himself out of his dark hole," Lucas replied without missing a beat. "Therefore, he's wasting his life. I know that he deserves to live, but he's still withering away, not helping anyone. But it's okay and it's not my problem."

"He just feels like he's in a hopeless situation and that his only shining hope is in your missing brother. If he could just let Claus go, maybe he'd be more willing to listen." Ninten said before shaking his head. "But like you said, it's not your problem." He began walking away from the tombstone before he turned back to Lucas and said, "By the way… apparently I can talk to the dead. I'll see you at the train station!" he quickly ran away, feeling his face heat up from suddenly saying that.

"Wait, WHAT?" he heard as Lucas ran in pursuit.

Ninten couldn't help but laugh as Lucas was chasing after him. He kept laughing as they ran to the train station, where Lucas jumped to pounce him down.

"Oof! H-hey man, for someone younger than me you sure are heavy!" Ninten wheezed from the ground.

Lucas' face turned from inquisitive to horrified.

"I… I did that to you," he whispered. "I jumped at you and tackled you. I… why? Why did I do that? Mother… why am I doing this?" he shook his head. "Do I care about you too much?" He turned back to Ninten. "I'm _really_ sorry for that. I didn't know what I was thinking."

Ninten sat up and said, "I think you were just having fun, there's nothing wrong with that. Besides, it didn't really hurt." He dusted himself off.

"No, it's not the tackling…" Lucas said, trailing off, "It's that I couldn't control myself. I normally don't pounce on people like that. I wasn't just having fun, Ninten. I could have seriously hurt you! This isn't like me. I normally over think before taking action of any kind."

"I don't see what the big deal is." Ninten raised his eyebrow. "You mean to tell me you've never actually just be a kid and play with someone your own age before?"

"No, I have," Lucas said, "But I normally make a conscious choice to act like that. This time…" Lucas let his words trail off into an ominous silence.

"Okay, maybe Fuel's been rubbing off you more than you realized," Ninten said. "Come on, didn't you say we would have to walk to get to the factory? We should probably do that now so it wouldn't be too dark by the time we get there."

Lucas slowly nodded.

"All right… but what _did_ you mean when you said that you could talk with the dead?" Lucas asked, cocking his head.

"Oh it's nothing really… I just think I'm going insane." Ninten frowned. "I… thought I was talking to your mother's spirit or something."

Lucas' eyes widened.

"I don't know what to say, Ninten. You're right; we should just focus on getting to the factory. We can worry about this later."

When the two were about to enter the tunnel, someone shouted, "WAAAAAAAAAIT!"

"Huh? WHOA!" Both Lucas and Ninten were suddenly grabbed from behind their shirts, and dragged away from the tunnel.

"What do you kids think you're doing!? Don't you know it's dangerous to go in there on foot? There are trains and chimeras all over the place!" A chubby, brown-skinned man scolded.

"We're desperate," Lucas responded evenly. "We need to work at the factory, but we can't take the train. This is _our_ choice to be stupid, not yours!"

"You're going to the factory? On FOOT?" The man frowned. "You kids have your whole lives ahead of you, don't throw it away like that!"

"We take a risk or we starve to death," Lucas muttered. "This isn't going to be a habit."

"Hey man, is that Fassad handing out a new model of happy boxes?" Ninten suddenly pointed behind the man.

"He is!?" The man quickly turned around, looking for Fassad.

"Run, Lucas!" Ninten grabbed the blond haired boy's arm and began running into the tunnel before the man realized he'd been tricked.

"It makes me feel a bit guilty to do that," Lucas said, jumping off to the side of the train tracks. "He just wanted to help. But we really didn't have many options…"

"Well technically I was the one who did that," Ninten said as they were walking beside the tracks. "Some people are just very stubborn and you have to outsmart them if you want to get past them."

"Being stubborn isn't always bad," Lucas said. "Imagine if we _were_ a couple of dumb kids playing chicken on the railroad tracks. He would have just saved our lives!"

"Oh I'm not faulting him for that," Ninten said. "Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate that kind of stubbornness when it's needed. But if it hinders more than helps, you'll have to take it in your own hands to do something about it."

Lucas smiled.

"I'm starting to wonder if you really _are_ shy and reserved. I guess it's good that you feel comfortable enough around me to talk about these things."

"Honestly I don't even know how I know this. I feel like I'm talking from experience," Ninten said. "It's a little weird to feel like I should know this even though I don't."

"Chimeras ahead," Lucas noted, pointing towards a group of chicken-headed snakes. "They shouldn't be hard. Just make sure to stay off the tracks while you're engaging them, all right?"

"Right…" Ninten picked up a stick nearby. "I'll help you out, Lucas, if it's not too much trouble."

Lucas grinned.

"Thanks. It's always more fun to do things with a friend, huh?"

The two worked together to fend off of the chimeras and keep going ahead through the train tunnels. They came outside where there was a cliff and a ladder while they were fending off another chimera.

Ninten just finished smashing a mushroom dog chimera into the wall, knocking it out. "Little sucker bit me with its teeth!"

Lucas laughed.

"It's more fun to fight outside, huh?" he asked. "I don't know, maybe I'm alone, but I think that those trees provide some nice scenery… and what is _that?_ Looks like some sort of ladder heading upwards. Should we check it out?"

"After walking for hours through the dark tunnel and outside again… I'm a little tired." Ninten sighed. "But maybe there's some food up there we can snack on."

Lucas examined Ninten, seeming perplexed.

"You've gotten hit by more attacks than I, but I could never tell from looking at you. You're holding up rather well. You probably have at least some military experience in your background."

"Military? I doubt that." Ninten chuckled. "They don't let anyone under 18 sign up for such a thing anyways."

The two reached the top of the ladder and were surprised to see a hot spring in the middle of nowhere.

"What the…? Why's there a hot spring out here?" Ninten questioned.

"And why is there someone in it?" Lucas added.

Ninten's eyes when when he saw a person with pink hair in the hot springs before he quickly turned around. "I-if it's a woman we probably shouldn't be looking at them!"

"Relax, she's fully clothed," Lucas said.

"Hmm?" the person asked. "You don't need to talk about me like I'm not here, darlings."

Ninten dared to turn back to the hot springs and saw the person was now facing them. With that face Ninten couldn't tell if it's a man or a woman. "Errr… we're sorry for disturbing you miss… uh… mister…?"

"Oh dear," the person said. "Don't apologize! It's not like I own this hot spring. But… oh my. Didn't I meet you before?" she asked Lucas.

The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"No," he answered. "I think that I'd remember you if I'd ever seen you."

The person looked disappointed, although not as much as Ninten would have thought.

"Oh, I should introduce myself, then! My name is Ionia."

"I'm Lucas."

"..." Ninten was still staring at Ionia, trying to decipher if it was a male or a female. "Huh? O-oh, my name is Ninten." He wanted to ask Ionia what gender she or he was, but he didn't want to be rude.

"Well that's nice, darlings. Why don't you come in? It's not every day that I get to see two humans that can use PSI."

"Um… what?" Ninten looked uneasy at the hot spring before turning to Lucas. "What's 'PSI'? Is it another thing that has to do with the magical healing properties of the hot springs? … It kinda sounds familiar."

"Never heard of it," Lucas said, shaking his head.

"Oh, dearie me!" Ionia exclaimed. "You children can use PSI, and you don't even know it?"

"Lucas, maybe we should go…" Ninten said nervously, not at all trusting Ionia.

Ionia looked shocked.

"You two don't want to learn about your own powers?"

"He means that he doesn't trust you," Lucas explained bluntly. "And I don't either."

"Tact Lucas, tact!" Ninten groaned at his bluntness.

"She doesn't get it!" Lucas countered. "I should at least explain _why_ we want to leave."

"Does it really matter?" Ninten grumbled.

"Hmm?" Ionia asked. "Why don't you trust me? I thought that you humans were social creatures."

"We're not exactly keen on trusting every strange person we meet," Ninten answered. _And so far, you're the strangest._

"Hold up," Lucas said. "What do you mean by 'you humans?' What _are_ you?"

"I'm a magypsy," Ionia replied, not seeming to take offense. "It's not surprising that you children have never heard of me. How old are you?"

 _Why do I feel like things just got stranger? What the heck is a magypsy?_ Ninten thought to himself. "We're old enough to take care of ourselves."

"Oh, yes, you humans have a phase in your life when you rely on others!" Ionia exclaimed. "I forgot! Don't you have 'parents' or whatever they're called?"

"I don't know." Ninten said truthfully.

"You don't know?" Ionia asked, her eyes widening. "How tragic!"

"Listen," Lucas said. "You said something about 'PSI.' What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, so you _are_ interested," Ionia said. "You humans are such inquisitive creatures."

Lucas blushed.

"I would just like an explanation," he said.

Ninten blinked as he recalled something from a faint memory. "PSI… PSI… doesn't that stand for psychic powers or something?"

Ionia nodded.

"Basically, dearie. It stands for psionics. And you both have the power to use it." She turned to Ninten. "Your powers are already activated. How did that happen?"

"What powers? I don't have psionics or anything," Ninten said in confusion. "Wouldn't I have known I was psychic? Like being able to hear people's thoughts or something?"

"You would assume so, yes," Ionia replied. "Humans with psionic powers can understand animals. Some of them can even converse with the dead!"

Lucas looked at Ninten, his jaw dropping. Ninten himself just stared at Ionia with his own jaw dropping.

"... Are you sure you're not another hallucination? There's no way we could have psychic powers!" Ninten pointed at Lucas. "He can understand animals but he doesn't even know what PSI is!"

Ionia took a close look at Lucas.

"I could have _sworn_ that Aeolia activated your powers, dearie," she told him. "You can even use PK Love, just like your duplicate."

"Brother," Lucas corrected under his breath.

"Wait a minute… your brother met these guys?" Ninten sweatdropped. "Okay, maybe I don't want to know what happened to Claus."

"I didn't know that he did, but it appears so," Lucas said.

Ninten gave a sigh before he turned to Ionia. "Hey, if Lucas really is psychic, then why haven't he used any of those powers you claim he can use?"

"Because his powers haven't been activated yet!" Ionia exclaimed as if Ninten had ask her how to walk.

"Ugh…" Ninten was getting a headache from all this. "Alright… how does he _activate_ them then?"

"I have to do it," Ionia replied. "Well, me or one of the other magypsies."

"Right, and how exactly do you activate the PSI within people?" Ninten asked.

"I just use my mind and tap into their power well and activate it," she explained as if it were obvious.

"Okay. Say we do this and Lucas's psychic powers awakens," Ninten said. "What will happen to him?"

"He'll be able to use psionic powers," Ionia said. "I don't know which ones, yet. PK Love radiates a strong aura, so I can detect that. I can probably check yours, if you like."

Ninten shook his head. "I-I'm good." He turned to Lucas. "What do you think, Lucas? Do you believe what this… magypsy's saying? Do you want to chance it and see if you really have PSI?"

Lucas closed his eyes, pursing his lips.

"Yes," he whispered.

"Alright, I'll stay here in case it tries to do anything funny," Ninten said as he stepped to the side of the hot spring so he could watch both Lucas and Ionia.

"Thanks," Lucas said, smiling weakly.

Ionia's eyes flashed with concentration, looking metallic yet hollow. Lucas closed his eyes and grimaced.

"I know that it's uncomfortable, but it will be over soon!" Ionia encouraged.

Lucas opened his mouth as if to utter a scream, but no sound came out.

"Just a little longer!"

After a few more seconds, Lucas opened his eyes. His azure irises shone with an icy fire.

" _Lifeup,_ " Lucas said, as if he were in a trance. " _Healing. Love._ "

He shook his head, seeming to come awake.

"Lifeup alpha," he whispered, touching Ninten.

Ninten looked at Lucas in surprise at that, but green aura filled his body and he could see the small wounds around his arms disappearing and he felt a lot better. "W-whoa… what was…?" _That felt very familiar… almost to the point it's nostalgic, even…_

Lucas jumped into the air, pumping a fist.

"I did it!" he exclaimed, a grin spread across his face. "I _can_ use PSI!"

"Whoa… congratulations Lucas, you're now a psychic!" Ninten chuckled. "But… maybe you should be careful on how much you use. I think you can only use so much before you mentally exhaust yourself."

"Correct," Ionia said. "If you ever feel weak, be sure to rest up in hot springs. They'll restore your psychic energy."

"The hot springs can restore mental energy too?" Ninten looked at the hot water in awe, he's never tried the hot springs before. "Wow, these things really are magical…"

"Aren't they?" Ionia asked. "Now, I must be going. Farewell!"

The magypsy made some hand motions that seemed oddly familiar to Ninten and vanished.

"Did it just teleport?" Ninten looked around before looking back at Lucas. "Hey, so how are you feeling? Any odd sensations about being psychic?"

"Surprisingly, no," Lucas answered, furrowing his eyebrows.

"You looked like you were in a trance when your psychic powers awakened. I was worried," Ninten said as he looked back at the hot springs. "... Think we should keep going now?"

"A trance?" Lucas asked. "I don't remember that. But yeah, we should probably get going."

The two of them climbed back down to the tracks and continued their way through the tunnel. "Yeah, you were in a trance… but I guess it didn't seem to harm you so…"

"Huh," Lucas said, shaking his head. "I guess we'll worry about that later."

Ninten nodded, looking at the long road ahead.

* * *

Ninten emerged from yet another tunnel. He felt… surprisingly well. He looked over at Lucas, who seemed to struggle with the strenuous walk. In an instant, Lucas' eyes flashed with alarm.

"What are you doing?" Lucas demanded. "Get off of those tracks! There's a train coming!"

 _What?_

Ninten looked back and saw a pair of lights from the long, dark tunnel inside. They approached him at a rapid speed.

 _Oh no…_

He looked at Lucas, who shared his look of horror. Without hesitation, they both began running off to the side… and then Ninten's shoe got caught on the tracks. He fell to the ground with a thud, but the pain was the least of his worries. Stupidly, he looked back and saw the train barreling towards him, chugging nosily.

 _I can't make it,_ he realized. _It's too fast!_

Ninten felt a hand grab onto his arm. The person _pulled_ hard enough to send Ninten's foot flying out of its shoe only moments before the train roared by and halted to a stop at the next station. Heart pounding, Ninten dusted himself and stood up.

"Thanks, Lucas…" he trailed off as he saw the person in front of him. It wasn't Lucas.

Ninten found himself face to face with someone who looked _exactly_ like him; the same black hair and eyes, the same stocky build, and even the same oval-shaped face. The only thing different about him was his outfit.

 _Oh my…_ he thought, his mouth unable to form words at the prospect of this absurd occurrence.


	8. Chapter 8: Writ on Paper

**DarkFoxKit: Hee, hee, hee, would you look at that? A lot of people want to see the reunion.**

 **Connor: Well, considering that we only hear from a small proportion of our readers, I don't know if we can make that claim. :P Maybe people couldn't care less about the plot (*cough* me *cough*).**

 **DarkFoxKit: Which I find still odd since stories usually need plots. ^^' But anyways, shall we get on with the reviews?**

 **Connor: Sure! And nobody's denying that stories need plots. ;) It's just that so long as it works, I don't really care about it.**

 **Shimo no ko:**

 **Connor: Yeah, the relationship between Ness and Ninten is super vague. Claus is here. :) And if you've ever read my stuff, you'll know that the questions don't get answered; more just get asked (although I think that isn't really the case with this chapter). xD Huh, I thought that the Flint thing was a little awkward because we kinda changed who controlled Flint halfway through, but I'm glad that you liked it! :)**

 **A Fan:** **I'm just going to leave the Phoenix Wright things up to you and Connor. ^^'**

 **The drama and tension between Lucas and Flint are common? I thought Flint being neglectful was common. But I guess I can see your point in people using it a lot.**

 **Yeah, I know how you feel about people like Flint, dealing with them is just one major headache.**

 **I guess Lucas was interested in PSI. ^^'**

 **You thought Ninten was looking at someone who looked like Lucas? That would've been interesting.**

 **Connor:**

 **witness: Er… I meant to say that Claus actually** ** _caught_** **Ness. Like… with his hands.**

 **Edgeworth: *Releases a condescending sigh* ...Please make that** ** _clear_** **next time, witness. Otherwise, I'll have your job.**

 **Witness: you can't even do that!**

 **Edgworth: *stares intently***

 **Witness: *gulps* Right you are, Mr. Edgeworth! I'll revise the testimony right away, sir!**

 **(Also, I understand Lucas' contradiction; It was intentional. Remember what he said before about gaining power? He kinda has an unhealthy obsession with it. Still, I appreciate that you're trying to keep us honest! :D)**

 **adricarra:**

 **Connor: Thanks! :) Yeah, Ninten always gets caught up in problems. Poor him. :( Yep, I'm trying to include a lot of scenes where the groups meet so that it really feels like one story.**

 **DarkFoxKit: It's too bad Ninten don't remember he can use PSI, but this makes him talking to Boney and Hinawa all the more funny. XD**

 **crabbyTomato:** **Connor: Heh heh. Cliffhangers. I would** ** _never_** **do that. :D Yup, Claus is here. Yeah, a lot of people depict Flint as a bad parent; we're just bandwagoning. xD Ah, glad that you liked those scenes… although Fox gets credit for those. Yeah, Lucas is a little… distant.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Hmm? Oh yeah, since Ninten couldn't define Ionia as male or female, 'it' was the only thing he could use, and 'they' just sounds like he's referring to more than one person.**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan: ****Flint seems to be the type who gets angry quickly, especially after Hinawa's death and Claus's disappearance. And yeah, there are a lot of people who make up excuses that doesn't make sense, mostly insecure, emotional people. Most people agree that Flint should be more focused on Lucas, the son who is actually there, then look for Claus in a place he's most likely not in anymore. I mean three years? By that point you might as well look in a different place already. As for Hinawa not talking to Lucas, it's really more of because Lucas's PSI hasn't been activated yet, so she couldn't talk to him as he was then. Ninten can't ignore his PSI forever though. ;) Yo Connor, you wanna finish up here?**

 **Connor: If I can find where you left off, sure! ;) Well, I can empathize with the railroad tracks guy. Kids do a lot of stupid things. :( Heh, it looks like you and Lucas have something in common! ;) Yep, Ness to the rescue (even though he's kind of a cheesy character)! Yup, Claus is here. And thanks! :) It's a stretch to call anything that I write right now "good," but I appreciate the support! :)**

* * *

 _Would you look at that…_ Ness thought, scanning the boy in front of him. _He looks exactly like me. Had Porky invented cloning, perhaps?_

"What were you thinking?" Ness asked, trying to yell some sense into this kid. "You came _this_ close to losing a leg!" He glanced at the sky. "Hey, Bud! You're the one with the wings, so why do _I_ have to do all of the heavy lifting here? Geez, get on your game!"

The other two boys looked up, clearly surprised to see another person there. Bud landed beside Ness and said, "You were the one who jumped from the sky to rescue this other boy."

"And I wouldn't _needed_ to if you had been on top of your game!" Ness exclaimed, not being fully serious about his disapproval. "Come on, Bud. You have to pull your own weight… and mine, literally. We have to be _in sync_ when we soar around the skies like the clowns that we are."

"Once again, you talk too much," Bud said before pointing at the other two boys, still looking confused and in shock. "Perhaps you should address them before you start complaining nonsense to me?"

"Screw you with your _logic,_ " Ness complained. He turned to the other two kids. "You guys all right?"

"Uh…" The boy who looked like Ness seemed at a loss for words. "... Y-yeah, I think so. Thanks for saving me back there… uh…?" The boy was silently asking for his name.

"The name's Ness," he said, walking up to the train tracks. "And you may have just lost a shoe. No wait, it looks like the train didn't quite run it over. It's your lucky day."

Ness tossed the shoe over to the other boy, who caught it. "Thanks again… I guess that was really stupid of me…" He blushed as he put the shoe back on his foot. "Um… my name is Ninten by the way. And this is…" Ninten looked over at the blond haired boy, who had been silent since their arrival. "Uh… hey… aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

"I'm Lucas," the boy said evenly.

Ness looked over him curiously. Lucas didn't seem to be in shock, but he stared at Bud with enough curiosity to make Ness feel uncomfortable.

"So," Ness said, trying to start a conversation, "Why did you guys run on the tracks? Because no offense, but even a toddler knows how stupid that is."

"We were on our way to the factory to get jobs," Ninten answered. "We're running low on money so we couldn't afford a ticket, we could only walk there."

Ness blinked. He hadn't expected them to actually have a _reason._

"But isn't the train cheaper for factory workers?" Ness asked.

"We're not workers yet, so it'd be roughly about 2500 DP per person. That's way more than we could afford," Ninten gave a sigh from that. "What else could we do?"

"I understand," Ness said, putting a hand on Ninten's shoulder. _Although I don't know what "DP" is… I should ask Bud._ "And I may be able to help. Where do you come from?"

"Um… well Lucas lives in Tazmily, which is where the track leads back to. I'm just living with him currently," Ninten answered, sounding unsure about something.

 _He didn't say where_ he _lived,_ Ness thought. _I wonder why he wants to keep it a secret. Tazmily, huh? I wish that Porky would give me the necessary information before he threw me into this mission._

"Well, I figured that you both lived in Tazmily," Ness lied. "Like you said, the train goes there. But…" Ness scratched his head. "This is somewhat embarrassing, but I don't have a good grasp of geography. What are the other major towns and cities around Tazmily?"

"You'll have to ask Lucas," Ninten said. "I only know of Tazmily's existence." He was looking over at the other boy beside Ness. "So who's he? Your friend?"

"Yep," Ness answered. "I'm trying to corrupt him with my silliness. You know how some people get." He turned towards Lucas, "Hey, Lucas! What other towns and cities are in the area around Tamily?"

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows, but remained looking at Bud.

"None," he answered. "And if you've ever been there, you would know that. But I've never seen you before."

Ness processed this information. Tazmily was likely a small town, since Lucas implied that he knew everyone who lived there. And there were _no_ towns near Tazmily? So the train only existed for the people of Tazmily. But it seemed rather… sleek for being built in a small town. Ness would have expected them to build rickety locomotives instead. But didn't Porky say that Ness was in the future?

Bud leaned over to Ness and said, "I could've told you that."

"Well, why didn't you?" Ness asked. "Do you expect me to actually _ask_ for information that I want?"

"I had assumed that would be the natural thing to do," Bud said, not changing his tone.

"I was being sarcastic," Ness said with a sigh, "Or ironic, if you prefer the archaic definitions of words. I was just too scared flying around to think about much else."

"You didn't seem that frightened to me when we were flying," Bud said.

"Uh… excuse me you two, but… who are you guys anyway? You seem to be wearing similar uniforms… are you workers too?" Ninten spoke up.

"No, luckily for us," Ness said. "Hm… Bud, am I allowed to tell people who we are?"

"You are… however I don't recommend it." Bud answered.

"Eh? Why not?"

"According to my data, one of these two boys do not like the Pigmasks, if you go around telling them you might set up for aggressive behavior in the future. And I don't want you giving us a bad name," Bud answered.

"Well, you just implied who we are, so congrats there," Ness said dryly.

"Wait, you two are with the Pigmasks?" Ninten asked.

"You asked and I answered," Bud said to Ness.

"You could have left out the part about the Pigmasks," Ness replied. _Although, honestly, I was probably going to question further if he hadn't said that…_ "And yes, Ninten, we are with the Pigmasks. Right now, I'm trying to reform this stupid factory with no background knowledge whatsoever."

"Because you haven't asked for any," Bud said.

"Okay look, we're going to the factory to work there ourselves. Maybe you could come with us… that is… if it's okay with Lucas," Ninten said, looking at the blond haired boy.

"Fine by me," Lucas said, still not taking his eyes off of Bud.

"Uh, actually, well…" Ness trailed off. "I'm going to be a jerk and say no without explaining why. Sorry!" He turned to Bud. "So, do you have any information _whatsoever_ on this factory, or do I need to go on a recon mission?"

"That depends, what sort of information are you looking for? I can only give you the basics," Bud said. "I only know what the factory is for, that is all."

Ninten was still looking at Lucas in concern, "Uh… Lucas, is there any reason why you keep staring at the guy with the helmet on?"

"I guess not," Lucas said, turning to look at Ness and Ninten. "So you two are supposed to… _reform_ the factory, but you don't even know what it's like?"

"It is our mission." Bud answered him. "If we don't know something we are to figure it out."

"Our boss gives us no background information whatsoever," Ness said with an exasperated sigh. "But I have an idea. Ninten, this may be an odd request, but may I pretend to be you for a while?"

Ninten looked at Ness in shock, "What? Why?"

"Think about it," Ness said. "If I go up there and inquire about the factory to the strikers, how do you think that will go? I'm an authority figure, and those people despise any semblance of management, which they relate to oppression. Do you think that they'll do anything other than throw stuff at me?"

"Strikers often talk back to authority figures. Throwing stuff is usually resorted when they feel trapped and more aggressive than usual," Bud explained.

"... Why is one of you so robotic like and the other is so… uh… full of spirit?" Ninten asked, looking at the two.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Lucas muttered. "Even stranger is the question of why you two get along."

"Uh…" Ness said. "Our boss does whatever the crap he wants to. I guess he paired us for the purpose of…" Ness trailed off. "Nah, I got nothing. But back to the _point,_ these strikers probably won't tell me anything if I ask them straight up. I want to help them, but it's kind of hard to do that without knowing how I'm supposed to help. So I was thinking of pretending to be you, Ninten. After all, you do actually want to work there, right?"

"... _Want to_ is stretching it," Ninten sighed. "But couldn't you just be yourself without the uniform? You do look like a kid… not that I'm judging sir." Ninten probably picked up on that Ness and Bud are high authority figures during their talk.

"Please, call me Ness. And that was my original plan, but I don't think it works as well. People would recognize me if I first went to gather information as a regular kid and then tried to negotiate with them as a manager. But if I pretend to be you and then _you_ show up while I act like a manager… well, I'm sure that you follow."

"Ooooh, I get it," Ninten nodded. "You want to pretend to be me so people don't suspect you as an authority figure and you can get better information that way and they'll be more inclined to listen to you. I guess I do owe you for saving my life."

"...But I still don't know if we can trust him," Lucas said. "He's working with the pigmasks, after all. Who knows what other plans lie up his sleeve. Maybe he wanted to save our lives, but has no qualms with exploiting us for labor."

 _Geez, this kid is bitter!_ Ness thought.

"Lucas here has a point," Ness said. "You have no guarantee that I'll act in your best interests. Do you want me to have better information about the strike or not? The choice is yours, Ninten."

"Why wouldn't you trust the Pigmask? They've provided for you since they came to Tazmily," Bud asked Lucas.

Ness slapped his forehead.

 _Dealing with angry people 101: find a way to defeat their claims without challenging them head on,_ he thought.

As Ness had suspected, Lucas bristled at this comment.

" _Provided_ for us?" he spat. "Unless you mean providing more corpses for our graves, you have _no_ basis for that claim!"

 _Geez,_ Ness thought. _Are we really that bad?_

"They were the ones who sent all those ingredients from the city so you can make more food," Bud answered without flinching.

"We didn't need _more food,_ " Lucas hissed. "We didn't need anything from you people! From your happy boxes to your chimeras, all that you pigmasks do is destroy!"

"The happy boxes were meant to bring happiness to the people. The chimeras were to keep things interesting," Bud said.

"Keep things _interesting?_ " Lucas shouted. "I guess it's interesting for you to watch people die! Do you relish the look on someone's face when they know that they're dead, yet they can't stop struggling? When they know that they can't possibly accomplish anything else, but the pain moves them to flail helplessly? Do you _enjoy_ that?"

 _It sounds like he speaks from personal experience,_ Ness thought. _No wonder he hates us._

"Bud," Ness said. "Arguing with Lucas will only make things worse. He's the primary source here, so I think that our information has just been outclassed."

"I'm only getting information from him," Bud said. "Using your tactic to provoke the person into spilling out what is bothering them."

This made Lucas fume even further with anger.

"So you just see me as a source of information?" he demanded. "You don't care about who I am or what I've done? That's the most _pigmask_ thing out there. Every one of you are _disgusting_ creatures!"

"That is what I am," Bud answered evenly. "I can't care for people."

Ness sighed inwardly.

"Bud," he said. "Please don't harass Lucas any more. From the looks of it, this subject carries a lot of pain for him."

"If that's what you wish," Bud said. "I will stand down."

Ninten was watching in silence before he said, "... That's almost like arguing with a robot…"

"It is," Ness said sadly. "Bud here has a difficult time feeling _any_ emotion at all. His thoughts and actions are mechanical by nature."

"That's rather sad…" Ninten frowned. "Um… I'm not sure what's the best course of action to be honest. I don't know much about the Pigmasks and Lucas… doesn't have the best impression of them. But I still want to help…"

 _Thank you!_ Ness thought with a smile. _Finally, something that I can work with!_

"Well, I know that you have no confirmation that I'm telling the truth, but I promise that I'll help the factory workers in every way that I reasonably can," Ness said, looking into Ninten's deep, pained eyes.

"... I think you're a good person, Ness," Ninten said. "I don't know why… I just feel it. I think I can trust you."

 _Yes!_ Ness thought.

"I promise that I won't let you down, Ninten," he said, breaking out his most charming smile. "Now just wait a sec…"

Ness took off his commander clothes, revealing ordinary ones underneath. He spent about a minute adjusting his posture. He noticed that Ninten seemed to do everything hesitantly, he would pause before taking each step, as if someone would criticize him for merely walking. Ninten also had a habit of slouching his shoulders, which took Ness a while to pick up on. By the time that he was finished, both Ninten and Lucas examined him curiously.

"Ninten, may I borrow your cap and scarf?" Ness asked. "I promise that I don't have lice."

"Uh… sure. Just be careful with them." Ninten said as he took off his cap and handed it over to Ness. He took off his scarf and gave it to Ness hesitantly.

"Thanks," Ness said. "I'll be sure to return these in top condition. Hey, Bud, do you want to stay here, or are you going to insist on coming with me?"

"I have to stay with you, to keep an eye on you, remember?" Bud answered.

"I do remember," Ness said with a sigh. "Just… circle around in the sky or something, all right? I don't want you affiliating with me while I'm pretending to be Ninten. It would break my cover."

"Wouldn't they find it suspicious if you showed up alone and then Ninten comes with Lucas by his side?" Bud asked.

Ness nodded.

"Lucas, do you want to come with me?"

"No," came the gruff reply. "You seem to think that you're so smart and everything, so shouldn't you be able to work around me not being there?"

 _Well, it's easier if you're there…_ Ness thought.

"All right," Ness replied, accepting Lucas' challenge even though he felt like he probably shouldn't. "I'll try to think of something. You ready, Bud?"

"I am quite intrigued in seeing how you'll handle the problem," Bud said with a hint of amusement.

 _I am too, since I have no idea what I'll say,_ Ness thought. He didn't voice those words out of fear that he would make Ninten feel nervous.

"All right, I'm off!" Ness said, walking away. "Don't miss me too much, Lucas!"

Ness heard Lucas mutter something about pigmasks. He thought that he heard a few swear words mixed in there, but he couldn't tell for sure.

"What was that? You said not to harass him yet you can tease him all you want?" Bud asked, and if Ness could see his eyes better he's sure his eyebrow would be raising.

"My words were playful and lighthearted, unlike yours," Ness replied. "Besides, I can get away from it because I'm charming." He flashed a cheesy smile.

"This is why I don't deal with emotional teenagers too often," Bud said. "So you got the looks of your look-alike, how are you going to handle showing up with no Lucas? Unless you can find someone else willing to cooperate and looks like Lucas, I don't see that working out too well."

"Nah, it will be fine," Ness replied, shaking his hand. "You don't understand how people think. Even if they think it's strange that the real Ninten shows up with Lucas, it will end there. Everything in life is strange when looked at closely, so nobody bothers to examine all of the little contradictions. And that's assuming that I _don't_ pull some excuse out of my arse by the time that we get there."

"If you say so. If you get caught then you might want to run or call me to back you up," Bud said. "I will stay outside as you requested."

 _If I screw up… then it will look bad for Ninten._ That sent a chill down Ness' spine. He _hated_ being responsible for someone else. As a child, he always did whatever we could to avoid the look of disappointment on someone's face when he failed them. _Ah, I gotta snap out of my paranoia. But should I worry? After all, Ninten's life could be ruined if I make him look bad in front of his future co-workers._

Ness' stomach churned, making him feel like he had to barf.

 _Gah! Not this; not now! I need to push through!_

But it was too late. Once that nauseous feeling invaded Ness' stomach, it refused to go away. It was usually triggered by anxiety, so Ness should have expected it.

"Ness," Bud spoke up. "Your bio is… very tense. Are you sure you want to do this? Your anxiety level is pretty high."

 _He can detect that?_ Ness thought. _Huh; that's probably why he sometimes caves into my emotional requests. He can tell just how much I care._

"Nah, I'm fine," Ness said. "I have great control over my body. I forced this thing through an important baseball match when I had the flu. It wasn't fun, but I made it."

 _And I almost passed out right after, but he doesn't have to know that._

Bud looked hesitant about something, like he was going to say one thing but decided not to, "... Well… if you think you can do it, then do it."

"Thanks," Ness whispered. "I'm used to people trying to babysit me. They don't understand that some things are worth hurting my body for. But enough of my hopeless teenage drama. It looks like we're pretty much at the factory. Huh, nobody's outside. Are they doing a sit-down strike?"

"The strikers are not striking like you would see in a protest," Bud answered. "They're striking by slacking off and purposefully not getting anything done."

"Um… don't they understand that their method is probably the _least_ effective way to strike?" Ness asked.

"These people grew up in a small village with not much of an education system. I'm not surprised if this is how they think it's going to work," Bud said.

 _Well, this makes my job a little harder,_ Ness thought. _They might pretend to work hard, even in front of a kid like me._

"So, I'm probably going to have to actually do some work if I want to talk to the workers," Ness said. "Unless I can find a couple of them outside or something…"

"What about that one sleeping beside the candy machine?" Bud pointed at a Pigmask snoozing away.

"All right," Ness said. "I'll go after that one. Stay out of sight, all right? Well, either stay out of sight or act like you don't know me."

Without waiting to a response, Ness walked up to the pigmask. He used that opportunity to practice walking carefully like Ninten did. Upon reaching the pigmask, Ness cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, sir," Ness said, trying to imitate Ninten's slightly shaky voice. "Are you awake?"

The Pigmask let out a snort before waking up, "W-w-what? Who's there? … Oh it's just a kid. What do you want?"

Ness blushed, shying back a bit.

"Er… My name is Ninten. This is the factory, right?"

"Yes it is. Is it not obvious with the big sign?" The Pigmask said.

"Oh," Ness said, acting embarrassed. "So… I don't know how to ask this without sounding stupid, but what does this factory _make?_ "

"... It's a Clayman Factory kid… It makes Claymen. The workers are to dig up clay and send them to a processing room where it brings the clay to life."

 _He said "the workers" like he isn't one himself,_ Ness realized.

"Oh… are you a manager, then?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? I'm just here to keep people from rioting," The Pigmask said. "And I'm on my break anyways. Digging up all that clay is too tedious."

 _So he is a worker… why did he imply that he wasn't?_ Ness thought, trying not to show his annoyance. _If my plan gets foiled by this idiot not understanding the basic implications of his words, I'm going to be furious._

"Rioting?" Ness asked curiously. "Why would people riot?"

"Because this place is smelly, there's no showers or food here, we barely get any rest at all. And by the time everyone's finished, it's too late to go home. We might as well spend the night here," The Pigmask grumbled.

 _Well, that was easy,_ Ness thought.

"Just how long do you have to work?"

"Eight hours is the minimal, but you get paid so little since you have to pay for a train ticket, it's not even worth it and everyone just goes into overtime." The Pigmask didn't seem to have any problems spilling out his complaints to this 'random kid'.

 _Good to know…_

"How much exactly do factory workers make per hour?" Ness asked. "I need to help my friends and family out financially. That's why I'm here in the first place…"

"About 25 DP per hour. By 8 hours we would only have about 200 DP, and guess how much a train ticket cost? About 50, but if you had more than one person with you that amount doubles. Not to mention the round trip ticket is another 50."

"Oh no…" Ness said. "You're right. After the train costs, that only leaves 100 DP left. That's barely enough to take care of living expenses… but they'll still pay me the same amount even though I'm a kid, right?" Ness remembered that in industrial Eagleland about 100 years ago, children made only a small fraction of what men did for working the same amount.

"I think so, no reason why they shouldn't as long as you work," The Pigmask shrugged. "You sure are asking an awful lot of questions. Didn't you do your research before coming here to work, kid?"

Ness blinked, his heart thumping in his chest. He couldn't let himself falter, not now!

"I… er… well…" he trailed off, hoping that the pigmask would just see him as a shy, impulsive kid.

"... Hey, did you come from Tazmily?" The Pigmask asked. "How'd you get here? Did you walk?"

Ness tried to force a blush and felt surprised when it actually came to his face.

"...Yeah," he whispered.

"That's pretty impressive for a kid, especially with all the chimeras in-between tracks," The Pigmask said. "Maybe you'll make a great labor worker."

Ness gulped. He didn't have to pretend to be nervous.

"All right… thanks," Ness said. "I made it over here with my friend. I'm going to tell him everything that I learned. Thanks for the information."

"Whatever kid, if you bring in more workers that's fine with me," The Pigmask said before turning to the candy machine and putting a coin into it.

Ness smiled nervously and walked away, his heart pounding in his chest. He turned a corner and sighed in relief, looking at Bud.

"That… was harder than I thought it would be," he whispered. "Even though the pigmask gave me all of the info I needed right off the bat. I really _suck_ at this."

"... That would be a paradox. You seem to have done well and the results was good, yet you said you're terrible at it," Bud said.

Ness continued walking, but felt determined to keep the conversation from going. He needed _something_ to curb his anxiety, after all.

"Not really," Ness replied. "The task was easy, and yet I faltered a couple of times. It's like _almost_ falling off of your bike when you have training wheels on. It shouldn't happen."

"Perhaps you would like some water?" Bud suggested.

"Nah, I'm fine," Ness said. "I just need to take a few deep breaths."

"..." Bud appeared to be thinking about something. "Well I hope you're able to calm down soon. Those two boys are coming this way now."

Ness put on a cheerful face as he approached Ninten and Lucas. He handed Ninten's scarf and hat back.

"Success!" Ness exclaimed. "I got pretty much all of the information that I need. Thanks for letting me go through with that, Ninten. And as a personal aside, I do not want to _ever_ do that again."

Ninten put his cap back on his head and tied his scarf around his neck, "How did it go? You seem cheerful about your success, was it hard?"

"Harder than it should have been," Ness answered. "Luckily, I found someone who liked to yap, so I got my info from him. He's a pigmask who was napping next to a vending machine, so pretend like you recognize him if you pass that area."

"Alright. So what are you going to do now?" Ninten asked.

"I'm going to negotiate with the workers," Ness replied. "You did bring my commander outfit, right?"

"Yeah. Lucas has it in his bag," Ninten said, turning to Lucas.

Lucas took the clothes out of his bag and handed them to Ness.

"You should consider wearing deodorant," he said, a light smile appearing on his face.

Ness laughed, thankful that Lucas showed something other than hostility.

"I should request that, huh?" he asked, turning to Bud. "Do we have any deodorant at the pigmask base?"

"... What is deodorant?" Bud asked, sounding clueless.

"It makes you stink less," Lucas explained. "It's one of the few items from New Pork that actually makes life more bearable."

 _Wait,_ Ness thought. _So Tazmily doesn't produce deodorant at all?_

"You mean a shower or a bath?" Bud asked.

"No, it's stuff that you apply to your body," Lucas said.

"It doesn't matter what it is right now," Ness interrupted. "Bud and I are going into the factory. You two can come if you want, but we should probably go in separate groups."

"Yeah, Lucas and I will just head there as workers while you two work out… whatever with the other workers," Ninten said.

"Cool," Ness said. "And I also have another question for you guys. This might sound strange, but I don't really know how much DP is worth. How long ago did the world start using this currency?"

Ninten blinked at that, "Wait, you don't know DP? What currency did you always use before?"

 _Should I tell?_ Ness thought. _I don't see how it could hurt…_

"Dollars," he answered.

"... You use dollars too? I thought I was the only one!" Ninten said in shock. "What town did you come from? Maybe I came from there too!"

Ness blinked.

 _So Ninten must come from an archaic town that still uses old-fashioned currency, huh? Because this world is the future… if Porky's word can be trusted._

"Onett," he replied. "And I think that I would have seen you there if we had come from the same town. Onett is pretty small."

"But I had to have come from somewhere that still used dollars." Ninten frowned. "That's my only clue…"

"You make it sound like you don't even know where you're from," Bud pointed out.

"I… uh…" Ninten paused, as if not sure how to answer. "I was… just wondering if there was any place left that still uses dollars."

"But you don't know where you're from, do you?" Ness asked.

"N-no, that's not it!" Ninten yelled without meaning to, his face turning red.

"He's lying," Bud whispered.

"You don't need to say that," Ness said with a smirk. "It's so obvious. But hey, that's cool. Do you have amnesia or something?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ninten's face was still red.

Lucas put a hand over his shoulder, Ninten turned to him and the other boy nodded to him.

"..." Ninten frowned and gave a sigh before turning back to Ness and Bud, "Yes… I have amnesia. The only thing I remember about myself is my name."

"Well, I'm truly sorry," Ness said. "I know how it feels to be lost in a foreign world. It's obnoxious to have to _pretend_ like you know everything as you spin webs of lies to cover for yourself."

"Well it's not all bad. Lucas here was kind enough to provide food and shelter for me," Ninten said. "But I have no idea how I even ended up in Tazmily in the first place and it's been bugging me."

"Well, if you ever need help from me, don't hesitate to ask," Ness said. "Although, we probably won't meet again, at least not soon. As a pigmask, I'm basically working in my sleep to go on missions that my boss assigns."

"Ness, we should probably get this mission done soon," Bud said. "Our boss is not a very patient man."

"Yes, I know," Ness said. "But helping people is important too, even if I can only provide sympathy."

He started walking back towards the factory, relaxing at the prospect of not having to act like Ninten this time.

"Why did you join the Pigmasks?" Lucas asked, following behind.

"Who are you asking?" Ness replied.

"Both of you."

 _Well, he doesn't waste words with flourishes,_ Ness thought.

"I wasn't really given a choice," Ness said.

Bud seemed hesitant to answer for some reason, "... I'm not even sure if you could call my reason a reason. I was just… _there_." Why didn't he just tell Lucas the same thing he told Ness-being created to BE the Commander-was what caught Ness off guard.

Lucas nodded, seeming to accept the answer.

"All right," he said. "Looks like the factory is right up there. Do you two want to go first?"

Ness nodded.

"Come on, Bud," he said. "And let me do most of the talking, all right? You know just how fond I am of my big mouth."

"I didn't plan to speak unless I am needed to anyways," Bud answered.

The two of them approached the factory together. The Pigmask that Ness had talked to earlier had fallen back asleep, thankfully. Ness strode into the factory like he owned the place… which wasn't actually too far from the truth. Inside, he saw a simple room with a pigmask standing behind a desk.

The Pigmask was blue, indicating it was of the Captain rank, "What the? … Commanders? Sirs, what are you doing here?"

"We got assigned here," Ness explained amiably. "We're supposed to deal with the workers. Porky figures that we need some extra muscle to deal with their stubbornness."

"O-of course! The workers are all down in the pits digging up clay. Should we announce you want them all present?"

"Sure," Ness said. "They'll probably enjoy the break enough to care about me. I assume that you can call them up here quite well on your own?"

"I should, assuming they don't decide to stay just to rebel," The Pigmask said before pushing a button.

The Pigmask's voice echoed throughout the entire factory as he told every worker to be present to the top floor for the commanders. It didn't take long for a lot of people to come up from the pit underground, regular people and Pigmasks alike.

"Hello," Ness said, offering a professional smile. "Is this everyone?"

"We think so," A Pigmask said while saluting.

"Good. If anyone's missing, that just means they won't have a voice. Now, Mr. or Ms. captain blue suit pigmask, do you happen to have a pen and some paper?"

"I-I am a man sir. And yes I do," The blue Pigmask said, handing him a pen and an empty notepad.

"So," Ness said, addressing the workers. "I am here to negotiate this… issue with you all. I have heard that many of you act outright rebellious due to a variety of factors."

To this, he received grumbles and moans.

"The pigmasks sent a _kid_ to address us?" one of the workers said. "See how they treat us? This is why we had to show some strength in the first place!"

"You're speaking to a commander!" the Pigmask captain hissed. "Show some respect."

"I'm a kid in a fancy uniform, so that gives me the power to negotiate with you," Ness replied, ignoring the captain's outburst.

"He doesn't _seem_ like a commander to me," the worker said.

"Now, what's your name?" Ness asked.

"My name is Bronson. You seem to act more like a kid than a commander to me," Bronson said, looking skeptically at Ness.

 _I'm both, genius,_ Ness thought. _Please, somebody slap this man._

"Well, regardless of how I _act,_ I have the power to negotiate terms with you all. So even if you think I'm some arrogant little snot of a kid, dealing with me could carry some real benefits for you all."

 _How do I act both friendly and serious to these people without sounding fake?_ Ness wondered. _I think that most of them already hate me._

Another worker spoke up and said, "And what exactly do you plan to negotiate then? How about a raise so we don't have to work for more than eight hours a day?"

There were a collective of agreements among the crowd.

 _Okay, so I really didn't need to do research,_ Ness thought, feeling silly about himself. _Of course they're willing to throw requests at me, even if they're angry!_

"Actually, I am in accord with you on this one," Ness said. "Workers should not have to toil for longer than eight hours a day. However, my idea is a little different."

"And what is it? Because if it's to make us work harder than forget about it!" Another worker snapped.

 _Um… they get paid by the hour,_ Ness thought. _Working harder doesn't actually earn them any more money, meaning that it's not really a solution._

"I was thinking that the train should be free for all factory workers," Ness said. "Which is basically a 100 DP raise, right?"

 _If they can't follow that logic, then I might have to smack someone,_ Ness thought.

There was a pause among the crowd before they began talking to each other in hushed tones. The one called Bronson spoke up, "If you can guarantee a free train ride for workers that will be nice, but is that all?"

Ness pretended to look shocked.

"100 extra DP per day is quite significant… and no, that's not all."

"Then what else do you have in mind?" Another worker asked.

 _Oh wait,_ Ness thought. _There's something that I forgot to check. Perhaps I can figure it out… nah, there's no way. I guess I should come out and ask it._

"How's insurance coming along?" Ness asked. "I'm embarrassed to admit that I forgot to check on it before this meeting."

The people in the crowd talked among themselves again. They seemed hesitant about answering that.

Bud whispered to Ness, "Remember, these people don't have a proper education. You might need to dumb that down a little bit for them."

"So, do they not _have_ insurance?" Ness whispered back. "What kind of workplace is this?"

"The kind that is run by Master Porky," Bud reminded him.

"So _do_ they have insurance?" Ness asked again.

"No," was Bud's simple answer.

Ness swore under his breath and turned back to the workers.

"What I mean to say is that we are now offering insurance," Ness said, trying not to sound annoyed. "If you go to the doctor, we will now pay 50% of the cost." It was pretty crappy insurance, but Ness wasn't sure how much Porky would allow him to negotiate. "All that you have to do is prove that you work at this factory… you guys do have employee cards, right?"

The Pigmask Captain spoke up, "Yes. They sign in and we keep their records, sir."

"Great," Ness said. "So just show your doctor the card, and then they'll bill us for half the cost. Hey Bud, make sure the doctors get that memo, all right?"

"It will be done," Bud said.

"That sounds pretty good," A worker said. "Is there anything else or is that all?"

 _Oh yeah,_ Ness thought, remembering about Club Titiboo.

"Master Porky has decided to open a club for all of this factory's employees. He's calling it 'Club Titiboo,' although I have no idea why. Anyways, you just show your employee card and you can ride up the mountain to reach it. Obviously, you are not required to go there. But Master Porky wishes for you to enjoy each other's company." _Instead of being with your family,_ Ness finished in his head.

"A club you say?" Now the crowd was interested. "Perhaps we will check it out and see if it's really good."

"To be honest, I haven't checked it out myself," Ness admitted, "And Porky says that you have to work hard to have access to the club." _Meaning that he might use it as bait to cheat the workers,_ Ness thought. "And that is all that we offer. Do you agree to stop acting… in ways that Porky does not appreciate in exchange for these benefits?"

The crowd whispered among themselves before they all gave a nod.

"Fine, we will work hard and see if this Club Titiboo is worth it," Bronson spoke for the workers. "But if it's not as good as it should be, we're not inclined to work as hard."

Ness sighed inwardly.

"I hate to be the one to pull out the threats, but Porky _could_ fire you all and replace you with other workers," Ness said. "I would feel sincerely sorry for you if that happened, and I do wish to provide you with the best benefits possible, but at some point Porky's just going to replace you. It's up to you all to decide how far you want to push your luck. But I _do_ truly wish the best for you."

The crowd began to disperse as they talked among themselves. Bud tapped Ness's shoulder and said, "I think we're done here."

"Wait," Ness whispered back. He turned to the group of workers. "Would you like some sort of treaty? It would honestly be a bunch of benefits listed on a piece of paper with my signature, but that way you could verify that I was here and made a legitimate deal."

"I'll take that and put it on the wall so the workers can use it to see what other benefits they can get," A Pigmask said.

"All right," Ness said, writing down the benefits on a piece of paper. He added in a clause about workers being able to sign up at the train station so that nobody else had to walk on the tracks like Ninten and Lucas, "I'm going to add in a little restriction. It just says that you have to work at least 40 hours a month to get the access Club Titiboo and get the health insurance… and there!" Ness signed his name. "We should really carve this in stone, like the Magna Carta. Although… that didn't go so well, did it? Maybe paper is fine."

Bud waited patiently for Ness to finish up his rambling and writing before he said, "Is there anymore you would like to add or can we return to base now?"

Ness scribbled some words down on another sheet of paper.

"Now I'm ready. I just needed to write out the basic gist of the deal so that I remember. I probably need to give a report to Porky, after all. Let's go! I'm already sick of this place."

As the two were walking out, they pass by the Pigmask Captain taking in more sign ups as they head outside.

"I've been meaning to ask…" Bud said to Ness. "Do you have a twin brother? That Ninten boy looked an awful lot like you."

"Nope," Ness replied. "Never seen him before. I'm genuinely curious about why he looks so much like me… perhaps it's just a coincidence, but it still bugs me."

"It is quite a mystery. Although something about that blond haired one troubles me a little. Perhaps it's just another glitch," Bud said.

 _And something about you troubled him,_ Ness thought but didn't say anything.

"There was no glitch in the first place, remember?" Ness asked.

"Then I don't know what else it could be," Bud frowned. "This was my first time interacting with the blond haired boy, yet I felt like…" he paused, as if unsure how to describe it. "... It doesn't matter, they clearly don't know us just as we don't know them."

 _Really?_ Ness thought. _Because it sounds like you're just trying to convince yourself. His logic makes sense, but I can't help thinking that something here is… wrong._

"We can talk about that later, Ness said, walking out of the factory and basking in the sunlight. "Let's head back to base, all right?"

"Alright," Bud activated his jetwings before he began to float in the air with them.

He picked up Ness and flew off into the sky.


	9. Chapter 9: Asthma

**Connor: Hey everyone! Happy November! Who else is looking forward to getting a chance to unwind over Thanksgiving Break?**

 **DarkFoxKit: I just hope my friends will unwind by then. I'm having trouble keeping up with all that drama.**

 **Connor: ...Yeah, life happens sometimes. D: It's not always pretty. I don't really have much to say about this chapter, so do you want to go to review responses?**

 **DarkFoxKit: Alright, let's do this! Although, I think a lot of people are busy currently since we've been getting less reviews lately. Ah, one of those slow days.**

 **Shimo no ko:** **Hehehe, the irony of Claus saying that to Ness was pretty funny. Well it's still pretty early in the game, can't expect things to get too climactic at this point after all. Now let's see what Ninten and Lucas are up to. :)**

 **Connor: Ah, South Park. I don't watch it, but maybe I should. I've really liked what I've seen from it… but hey, I'll respond to the actual review. Ah, I'm glad that Ness made you laugh. :) Yeah, it's sometimes difficult to find climax when we don't have much planned out before we start typing. xD**

 **Guest:**

 **DarkFoxKit: Heh, you don't see a lot of Mother fanfic with Ness and Claus, usually it's Ninten and Claus or Ness and Lucas. And yes, they are ridiculous because they are very opposite of each other, Ness being the funny, 'I don't care what my mouth says' attitude, and Claus being the emotionless robot that he is.**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** **Connor: Well, the point of the train in Mother 3 isn't to create profits. Pokey just wants to expand his industrial empire and use the lure of money to subdue everyone on the islands. And Ness isn't bad at acting… geez, what is that kid bad at? I need to give him** ** _some_** **flaws… well, this is the story where I'm not really worrying about content (because it's fanfiction and people will still enjoy it if my writing is trash, assuming that I can make the characters interesting), so I'll see what happens. Hey, no need to apologize! :) Spongebob can be surprisingly profound at times…**

 **DarkFoxKit: I think Ness's flaw is that he DOES talk too much as Claus says. ^^' Which is ironic because in the game he doesn't say a word. And yeah, Lucas might not have been so quick to anger if he knew that was indeed Claus he was yelling at… maybe. Although as for Claus remembering Lucas, he's not so much as remembering him as he is feeling some kind of nostalgic connection that he can't explain. Oh and… it's been a while since I've heard from ya, hope you're doing good there Orange!**

 **Connor: Yeah, Ness is a lot more competent than he thinks himself. People have told me that I'm the same way. *shrugs* And I'm sorry that you fell off the bike with training wheels on. Ness didn't mean to offend you! D: And I'm with you. I can ride a bike, but only barely. The last time that I tried was over seven years ago. Thanks for the catches! :) And no, we do our review responses the day that we post the chapters. It allows me to procrastinate haha.**

 **Hm… it's good that you don't mind filler chapters, but they** ** _are_** **a problem. As much as I hate agreeing with you on this, you ideally shouldn't have to resort to filler when writing a story. :( I don't know if there** ** _is_** **someone who likes all vegetables! xD Well, it's good to like some of them because most of them are healthy… although as they always tell you as a fun fact, "vegetable" has no biological definition, unlike a fruit. Yeah, I'm with you on the mourning thing. Nobody close to me has died yet… although I'm sure that will happen to me eventually. I hope that we can both get through our struggles in healthy ways. And oh yeah, it bugs me to no end when people say that their writing is amazing. It's a bad mindset, because writers should always focus on what to improve on. Even Dickens wasn't perfect. See you next chapter! :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Nobody's perfect. ^^' But it's good to always try and improve, it's only too bad a lot of people are stubborn though. Anyways, I hope that everyone will have a fantastic upcoming holiday and to relax after all the midterms and what not with school. Now I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Ninten and Lucas stood outside of the factory, finally having finished crossing the train tracks.

"Huh… the factory looks a lot… smaller than I expected," Ninten said.

"Really?" Lucas asked. "It looks big to me. I guess that it's all based on what we've seen before. But it still amazes me how such large buildings can even _exist._ There are apparently buildings in New Pork that can almost reach the sky."

"Those are probably skyscrapers; they're usually common in big cities," Ninten explained. "I may not remember where I came from but this is what my knowledge is telling me."

"Well, it's nice that you have knowledge about the new world," Lucas replied. "I wonder if you come from around New Pork… But we'll never know by just standing here. We should probably go into the factory and start working. And then we need to… find a place for you to stay."

Ninten felt disheartened to hear that, even though he knew that Lucas's father wouldn't accept him living with them. "R-right… okay, let's go in."

The two headed inside the factory. Inside, Claymen worked on two big machines. There was a blue Pigmask standing at a desk as if waiting for them.

"Ah, welcome! Have you kids come to sign in or are you here for a tour?" The Pigmask asked them in a surprisingly light tone.

"We… we would like jobs at this factory… sir," Lucas stammered. "Do we just sign up, or…?"

"Oh so you're signing up as workers? It surprises me that kids your age would do that. Well since you're under 18 years you can only work part time here," The Pigmask said. "But don't worry, you still get paid for your hard work, of course." He pushed some paper and pencils in front of them on the desk. "Just sign your names here and you should be good to go."

"What's this?" Lucas asked, seeming confused by the protocol.

"It's something so we can keep a record on the employees who work here," The Pigmask answered. "After all, we can't pay someone who shouldn't be here in the first place."

Lucas shrugged and scribbled his name down on the paper. The pencil rested awkwardly in his hand as he struggled to finish his letters.

Ninten didn't have such trouble, in fact writing almost seem to come natural to him as he easily wrote down his name. He waited patiently for Lucas to finish his before handing their papers back to the Pigmask.

"Alright… so you're Ninten… and Lucas. Since you two are part timers, your job is to find tired Clayman and bring them to the energizing room," The Pigmask said. "A tired Clayman will look more deformed and move slower than the other Claymen. All you have to do is get behind them and push. You'll pass by the energizing room, so if you want more details you can ask the people working there."

Lucas nodded.

"We can do that. Right, Ninten?"

"Yeah, it doesn't sound too hard."

The two walked into the back, coming into another room filled with clay. Two men worked on some kind of electric machine that were zapping the Claymen.

"It sucks that we can only work part time," Lucas muttered. "And since we're new, we probably got stuck with the grunt work. I wonder what they're doing…?"

"I guess this must be the energizing room." Ninten said as he pointed at a Clayman that just got shocked. Shortly after being shocked by electricity, the Clayman sprung to life and practically zoomed out of the room.

"Wow," Lucas said. He turned to the two workers. "Hey there. I'm kind of curious… what do these Claymen actually do?"

One of the workers looked over at them and said, "Oh hey Lucas, I didn't realize you'd ever come to work here!"

The other said, "The Claymen are kinda like robots, I guess you could say. They're to help dig up more clay for more Claymen. But nobody really knows what they're trying to do other than help with the labor work."

"Do you think that these Claymen eventually take our jobs?" Lucas whispered to Ninten. "Think about it. How hard would it be to direct a Clayman to push another Clayman like we're supposed to?"

"..." Ninten blinked at that. "You're kinda sounding like someone who watches too many movies. Don't worry about it, if they wanted to replace everyone they would've done so by now. I'm sure we'll get enough DP to live off of for a while by the time that happens, anyways."

Lucas still didn't look convinced.

"I'm sorry that I sound pessimistic, but I can't stop worrying," he said. "And I almost feel like the alternative is worse. What if we're stuck working here for the rest of our lives?"

"Let's try not to think about that, okay?" Ninten said, starting to feel a little worried himself. "Come on, let's go do our jobs first before we start having a midlife crisis prematurely."

Lucas nodded, although he seemed to lack some of his normal vibrance. Ninten walked into the next room, where a dog and a pig ran on treadmills. There was some kind of weird looking machine beside them that Ninten had no idea what to make of. A large hole in the ground led to a deep pit; there was a ladder that would lead them down, and something else that Ninten assumed was an elevator.

"So I guess we're supposed to go down in there?" Ninten said, looking at the ladder.

Lucas' expression turned gloomy.

"I guess so…" he said, releasing a sigh as he looked downward. "I'm sorry again for my negative attitude. I just really don't like being trapped indoors, especially since we're trying to _survive_ rather than really _live._ But I'll stop complaining now."

As they climbed down the ladder, Ninten decided to try to make conversation to get Lucas to cheer up a little bit, and to get some things off his chest. "I was wondering about something..." he thought about asking Lucas of his strong dislike in the Pigmasks but decided against it, since it was a very touchy subject and he didn't want to incur Lucas's wrath on him. "... Do you perhaps know that Commander guy with the helmet?"

Lucas didn't answer, leading to an awkward silence that lasted several seconds.. Right as Ninten was about to ask again, Lucas spoke up: "No. No, I don't. He just seemed… strange. Almost like he wasn't human."

"Yeah, I almost thought he was some kind of cyborg or something," Ninten said. "I guess maybe that was why you kept staring at him?"

"...Yeah," Lucas said, although he didn't seem sure. "That must have been it."

 _I wonder what happened to Lucas? I wonder why he hates the Pigmasks so much? I've only seen him that angry when he fights the chimeras…_ Ninten thought to himself, wishing he could ask Lucas directly but was afraid he might just make Lucas mad.

When they came to the underground, Ninten started having trouble breathing. "Whoa… it sure is… stuffy down here."

Lucas wrinkled his nose.

"Yeah… rather unpleasant. I would rather work in the fields; at least I can get some fresh air that way. But there I am again, complaining about how bad I have it. I'll try to stop that. We should get to work… let's check in with that pigmask over there."

The Pigmask noticed them and said, "Ah, you two must be new part timers. I take it you're going to push tired Claymen over here?"

"Uh… m-maybe," Ninten said, though talking was getting a little hard to do.

"All you have to do is find the tired Clayman; push it over here and I'll set it on this elevator here to bring it up and you two can push it into the energizing room. It's easy once you get into the swing of it," The Pigmask explained.

"So, do we have to fill a certain quota, or do we get paid by the hour?" Lucas asked, mistrust written plainly on his face.

"It'd be nice if you can find at least three tired Claymen, but your work time is about eight hours," The Pigmask answered. "Any other questions?"

"Y-yeah…" Ninten tried to take another breath. "Um… why is it… so hard to breathe down here?"

"Hmm? I don't think it's that hard to breathe down here. Maybe you're not used to the fumes the machines make while it's drilling through the ground," The Pigmask said. "You'll get used to it before too long… unless you have asthma or something, then you might want to work in the energizing room instead. Do either of you have asthma?"

"Nope," Lucas said. "How far do these tunnels go?"

"I… I don't know if I do…" Ninten answered with a frown, wheezing a bit.

"Well… huh… I actually don't know," the pigmask responded to Lucas. "I've never really gone too far in the tunnels myself. But they made some white lines on the ground so you won't get lost."

"Ninten," Lucas said, staring at him with wide eyes. "Ninten, are you alright? You look a little… pale."

"I'm… I'm fine… I just… probably not used to… the fumes…" Ninten said, trying to breath in more. "Come… come on, let's go."

Lucas looked sceptical but followed Ninten. The two of them began walking deeper into the tunnel. The further that they walked, the thicker the fumes got. Ninten started to have trouble trying to take a breath, his throat began to close and he was now taking short panicked breaths.

"Ack!" He fell to his side and grabbed his throat as he choked and wheezed.

"Ninten!" Lucas exclaimed, looking panicked but indecisive. " _Do_ you have asthma?"

Ninten couldn't answer, he could only keep choking and wheezing, struggling for air.

"Ninten! I…" Lucas fumbled, looking around frantically. Nobody else lay in sight. "No… there's nothing that I can do… come on, I have to think of something!"

"H-H…" Ninten was trying to tell Lucas something as he was struggling to breathe. "He… hea…!" He choked again, pointing at Lucas's chest frantically.

"Hea… hea what?" Lucas asked. "Hea… healing!" Lucas' eyes shot wide open. "I don't know if this will work, but it's our best bet. Healing alpha!"

The white aura surrounded Ninten's body and he felt his throat opening up again as he gasped, finally able to breathe. Ninten coughed a few times as his lungs gulped in the much needed breath, but the dirty air was making it hard not to have a relapse. "Get… get me… back out… h-hurry!"

Lucas nodded, his face turning gravely serious. He lifted Ninten up with a grunt, his arms shaking and his mouth twisting from the exertion.

"Hang… on," Lucas said, as he started to take steps forward. "Can you lean on me, or do I need to carry you this whole way?"

Ninten panted, still trying to keep himself from having a relapse as he leaned on Lucas. "I'll… lean… thanks."

Lucas smiled sadly.

"You always try to do so much, Ninten. Tell me if you can't take it anymore, all right? I don't want you to get another attack."

Ninten only took a few steps with Lucas when he felt his throat trying to close up again. He began choking and wheezing as the relapse began happening, he grabbed his throat and began choking hard, trying to let Lucas know.

"Healing alpha!" Lucas shouted frantically.

Ninten panted as he was able to breathe again. Lucas was trying to help him move faster out of the tunnel and was thankful to see the ladder that lead back up to the surface. Ninten felt pathetic and weak that he was being a dead weight to Lucas like this, but he feared if he moved too much he might go into another relapse.

"Hey!" Lucas snapped at the pigmask nearby. "My friend apparently _does_ have asthma. We need to use the elevator to get back up!"

"Oh dear… alright, get on the elevator," The Pigmask said with no argument as Lucas carried Ninten onto it. The Pigmask pushed a button and the elevator slowly went up.

As soon as they were out, Ninten could finally breathe more at ease. He wished he had an inhaler to make it easier. When he felt his lungs recovered enough, he looked over at the other boy, who was looking at him in concern, and said, "Th-thanks Lucas… really, thank you. I'm sorry about that… I really didn't know I had asthma…"

"You don't need to apologize to me," Lucas said. "You were the one that had it really rough. I can't imagine what it must be like, not knowing about your past and all of your health issues before it's too late. You just… relax up here, all right? I hate to leave you, but we need to make some money. Maybe the pigmask knows something that I don't, but three claymen in eight hours seems ridiculously low. I can easily cover for both of us today…" Lucas trailed off. "But what will we do after that?"

"I'm going to do something Lucas! I'm not going to make you cover both of our shifts just because of my stupid health problem," Ninten said with a frown, he felt aggravated that he couldn't help Lucas with the labor work because of his stupid asthma. "That Pigmask said I could work in the energizing room, right? So I'll do that."

Lucas smiled.

"You don't need to push yourself so hard, Ninten. But I know how it feels to want to be useful. I won't try to stop you. Just… be careful, all right? Hard labor can make asthma worse."

"I'll be fine. I think you're the one who got stuck with most of the back breaking work," Ninten said with a sigh.

"You always worry about others, don't you?" Lucas asked. "You remind me of myself when I was younger… but I suppose that doesn't matter. I can probably finish my work early, so I might come up and visit, all right?" Lucas turned to walk away but then looked back. "Although I'm confused. They said that we'll only do part-time work, but an eight hour shift seems like full time to me, especially since it's already afternoon."

"Eh, just take it up with the manager," Ninten said with an uncaring tone. "I'll see you later Lucas. I'm probably going to have to learn how to use those machines without shocking myself."

"All right," Lucas said. "See you in a while… hopefully before eight hours."

The two went their separate ways to begin their work. Ninten had to learn how to use the machines, which wasn't as hard as he thought it would be since all he has to do it aim and push a button and the machine will do the rest. It turned out that Lucas wasn't the only one who had to bring in tired Claymen; there were a few others who brought them in too. Ninten waved hi to Lucas whenever he came in. It was a boring yet strangely fulfilling day. Ninten just felt nice that he was able to do _something_ for Lucas after the boy saved his tail more than once.

Ninten sighed as he felt like things slowed down now, there probably wasn't that many tired Claymen left. Then suddenly someone came running past them screaming their heads off.

"CHIMERAS ARE ATTACKING!"

Ninten blinked at that sudden scream before people began screaming outside. Ninten jumped down from the machine, seeing large cow-snake things breaking the machines outside. "Uh-oh…"

Ninten didn't feel all that confident in himself at fighting those things, but Lucas had PSI… and he's fought with chimeras before. Ninten quickly turned and run towards the pit room. Looking down, the boy feared he might get another asthma attack if he went down there, but with so many people screaming in panic out there he had to do something! Ninten took in big gulps of air before holding his breath, hoping it would help at least.

Ninten climbed down the ladder, but he knew he couldn't keep holding his breath long enough to find Lucas. So he did the next best thing. "LUCAAAAAS! LUCAS! COME UP HERE NOW!" He quickly hurried back up the ladder, not wanting to get another asthma attack.

After a few seconds, Lucas ran up to the exit, looking up at Ninten.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his azure eyes shining with worry.

"That." Ninten pointed at the room ahead, seeing it in total chaos with all those cow snakes attacking people in a wild, rampaging frenzy.

"Well, I can't _see_ what's up there, but it must be bad," Lucas muttered, climbing up the ladder. Upon reaching the top, he gasped in horror. "What are _they_ doing in here?"

"I don't know! Someone just came running past the energizing room, screaming their heads off about a chimera attack and… well here they are." Ninten said. "I don't know about you but those cow snakes seems a heck of a lot tougher than the other chimeras we've fought with. I don't know if we could take them all like this."

"We might not have a choice," Lucas said. "Just look at how they're rampaging through everything. I think that some of those machines were made with _metal,_ and the cows still managed to ruin them. We either have to fight them here, or… no, we can't do that. We have to fight them here."

"Well… I'll be right behind you, Lucas," Ninten said, taking out the stick he had been keeping in his bag. "I may not have fancy PSI like you but I can hold my own."

"Actually, that magypsy said that you _do_ have PSI," Lucas reminded him. "Now might be a good time to test that claim."

"But I don't know how to activate them or whatever!" Ninten frowned, not feeling too keen on the idea.

One of the cow snakes was charging right at them. The two had to cut their conversation short to leap out of the way. The cow snake gave an angry moo as it gritted its teeth and was looking ready to charge at them again.

"You just make some hand motions and shout the words!" Lucas exclaimed, looking at the snake cow abomination in fear. "It comes naturally. Just try it!"

"I don't even know WHAT words to shout!" Ninten yelled back.

The cow snake charged at them again. Ninten yelp as it hit him into a wall. The boy groaned in pain, that cow snake could hit _hard_. "Ow…"

"PK Love alpha!" Lucas shouted frantically, an array of blue hexagons materializing on top of the cow snake, throwing it back. "Are you alright, Ninten? Wait… you hardly look hurt at all!"

"What do you mean I hardly look hurt? I'm sure I shattered a few bones from being charged by a COW and into solid WALL!" Ninten grumbled as he stood back up. "... At least that should've happened…"

The cow snake let out a hiss before it stomped its hoof, ready to charge at them again like a raging bull.

"Look out!" Ninten yelled as he pushed Lucas down to avoid another hit.

"We need weapons…" Lucas muttered, scanning the room. "I can't rely on PK Love. It takes too much energy for me to use repeatedly, especially since I need to save energy for healing.

Ninten struck at the cow snake with the stick he's been holding, only for it to snap in two. "... Err… yeah, preferably a durable weapon please. If only there was a way to… Here it comes again!"

The cow snake did a bum rush on Lucas this time, crashing the boy into solid wall. Ninten tackled the cow snake off of Lucas before looking over at the blond haired boy. "Lucas! Are you okay?"

Lucas gasped heavily, looking seriously injured.

"Lifeup alpha," he whispered, the wounds on his body starting to heal. "Now I am. But I can't last forever… we need some sort of offensive PSI that's more powerful than PK Love alpha. Please think about this, Ninten. Do you have anything like that?"

"I'm trying…" Ninten frowned as he shut his eyes, trying to think of any PSI he may have.

The cow snake was starting to come back; it was not finished with them yet. It charged at them again.

Ninten quickly stood in front of Lucas and took the hit himself, but just after he grabbed the cow's head and pushed back. The cow snake and Ninten pushed against each other, Ninten stood his ground firmly as he pushed hard to get it to back off.

"PK Love alpha!" Lucas shouted frantically, throwing the cow off Ninten. "Er… sorry. It looks like you might not have needed that."

Ninten was about to answer when there was a loud CRASH on the other side that grab their attention. The entire herd were now rampaging in this room and they were charging right at the two boys.

"Oh no," Lucas whispered. "We might have to head back underground…" he looked at Ninten in worry.

 _No! We'll die at this rate! We have to escape! We need to escape… survive… slip past them… slip… the fourth… 4th Dimensional Slip…_ Ninten's eyes widen as a familiar name came to his mind.

Without really thinking, Ninten grabbed Lucas's arm and shouted, "4th D-Slip!"

The area around them began to distort and ripple, there was an annoying high pitch sound that rang through their ears and their bodies began to dematerialize. For a few seconds, Ninten feared that he had somehow killed both of them, but the area began to stabilize and their bodies rematerialized. They were back in the factory but it was in a state of desolation. Nothing made a sound.

Ninten gasped as he stumbled back a bit, shocked at what he just did and what the heck just happened.

"Wha…" Lucas said, his eyes widening in wonder. "What was that, Ninten? Where are we?"

"I'm not sure… I think that was my PSI…? Maybe? … It looks like we're in the factory but it looks… different. Like a war zone just went through here." Ninten said with an unsure tone.

"You said… 4th-D slip, right? What does that mean?"

"... I think it stands for 4th Dimensional Slip. It… um…" Ninten scratched his head as he tried to remember. "I think it lets the user slip through time and space and teleport into the near future to get away from something dangerous."

"Wow," Lucas said, "That's really cool! I wish that I could do that…" Lucas cut his thought off as he pointed to a horde of chimeras in the near distance. "But they're still around, huh? And… I think that they might have just heard us."

As if to prove Lucas' point, a group of cow snakes started to charge at him and Ninten.

"I guess we haven't teleported far enough into the future!" Ninten yelp as he and Lucas braced themselves.

"Even if we warp further into the future, they might still be around," Lucas said. "And I don't know how much energy you have left. Still, this looks bad… what should we do?"

By now, the chimeras had almost reached Lucas and Ninten. They had to make a decision, and quickly. Ninten looked at the ruins behind him. If he went even further into the future, what else would the chimeras destroy?

Ninten raised his broken stick in defiance, waving it above his head as the chimera horde charged to meet him. "Bring it on!"


	10. Chapter 10: PK Love

**Connor: Hey, everyone! Here's the next chapter of Time Distorter! *has to read over it to remember what it's about***

 **DarkFoxKit: Nice way of telling everyone you forgot what happens in this chapter. ^^'**

 **Connor: Thanks. Well, I'm sure that I'm not the only one. Do you have anything else to say, or should we answer the reviews?**

 **DarkFoxKit: I think I'm good, might as well get to answering the reviews!**

 **Shimo no ko:** **I thought it was a pretty unusual yet cool thing to see a new status alignment like asthma in an RPG, but it being an early RPG does hurt it since you really can't do anything if Ninten is alone and don't have the Asthma Spray once it acts up, a really slow and painful way to die. Ninten may surprise you yet though, ;) and happy late Halloween to you too! The comments about Lucas and Ness… heh, I'll let Connor take those.**

 **Connor: Hi! :) Well, it's just like in the games where activating the PSI gives the user pretty good control over it from the get-go. But yeah, I do agree that random bursts of power shouldn't really solve conflicts, which is why we made Ninten's asthma a problem even after Lucas saved him from it (well, one of the reasons). And Ness and Porky are going to have a chat, although not about Ninten…**

 **Guest:** **Connor: Thanks! :) Yeah, there are a lot of bitter badass Lucas fics. I wasn't super creative with his character. xD**

 **crabbyTomato:**

 **DarkFoxKit: In the game if you had Boney sniff the Masked Man it's revealed that there are too many chemicals on him and he can't smell a thing. So I don't think Lucas is able to smell Claus as he is right now. ^^' Though Lucas does know something's up, hence why he was staring at him earlier.**

 **Pigmasks are… Pigmasks, I don't think child labor is a problem for them. Gotta feel sorry for poor Ninten, not knowing who he is and not having a place to stay and dealing with his asthma too, it's just another Sunday for him, eh?**

 **I always assumed PSI Healing could heal asthma, maybe? It'd make sense it could since it's technically a status alignment in the game.**

 **I kinda liked how the cattlesnakes looked, it reminded me of my doodlings when I was a kid. Though the Horsantula… yeah, that poor creature really shouldn't exist, it looks like it's in pain just for existing.**

 **The 4th D-Slip is something I would imagine is kinda like teleportation, but the time skipping thing made more sense in context since once you leave the battle you're still in the same spot you were in when you encountered the enemy.**

 **See-men:** **Connor: Yep. :(**

 **A Fan:** **No problem! We understand that life happens. :)**

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** **Connor: More action coming this chapter (assuming that I read the right one when trying to remember what it was about) Yep, 4th D-Slip comes from Mother. It's Ninten's signature PSI move (and a pretty lame one, at that :/). And the asthma also comes from Mother, so we don't take any credit for that. Thanks! :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: I think 4th D-Slip is pretty dang useful when you're low on HP and strong enemies are chasing you down. You can't exactly flee very easily in Mother/Earthbound Beginnings. ^^' But I digress…**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** **I'm glad to hear you're excited for someone coming back after a long hiatus! Gotta love that feeling. :3**

 **I hate it when that happens; you wrote down a lot of stuff only for it to get deleted before you saved or sent it.**

 **I don't think you have to really worry about where Ninten will go after this, just keep reading and you'll see.**

 **As for whether or not Claus is still human or chimera… uh… well… he's… both I guess? ^^' I mean he IS still human but… a cybernetic one? He's a human chimera, that's what I usually call him anyways. I guess you could say he's more human than chimera since he still has his rational thoughts and reasonings that chimeras don't usually have.**

 **Ninten's inhaler isn't on him right now, which is why Lucas had to use PSI Healing to get him breathing again.**

 **The 8 hour thing came from the game itself, we just stuck to the canon part in this case. I don't know if 8 or 16 hours is the actual time.**

 **Ninten IS in a very high level considering this is post Earthbound Beginnings/Mother Ninten, but without his memories of experience that's going to hinder him a bit, and Lucas isn't that high of a level yet.**

 **Gotta love 4th-D Slip, even if it's very costly to use. ;P**

 **Connor: Yeah, Ness is basically James Bond. It's a crappy way to write, but this is the story where I'm not worrying as much about how crappy my writing is. I know, the cattlesnakes are brutal. :/ Well, I think that we need to worry** ** _more_** **about bad writing knowing that we're already better than a lot of people. Because, you know, only the best of the best get paid for writing novels, and only the best of the the best of the** ** _best_** **really hit it big. Being an author is hard haha.**

 **Heh, I'm not competent in a lot of ways. If I had to live on my own, I wouldn't have the first idea of what to do, and I'm moving out to college in the next year. That's kind of a problem. And I think that I** ** _could_** **ride a bike… although probably not well. Ooh, hot sauce scares me. O.O Although, that's not saying much. A lot of stuff scares me. xD Well, if you're looking to improve your writing, you should probably start at the editing. Reading through your chapters and identifying weak points is super key. :)**

* * *

"Hey, Bud," Ness said, walking through the halls of the pigmask base. "Have you ever studied economics?"

"I don't study. I'm just a soldier meant for orders from Master Porky," Bud answered simply.

"Ah," Ness said. "Well, I'm wondering about the long term effects of our negotiations back at the factory. Making the train free for workers lowers the bar for people to get jobs, leading to a greater supply of workers. And as per the basic principles of economics, as supply increases, the equilibrium wage decreases. You know, if there are more workers, they can't be as choosy about the wages that they get. It makes me wonder if I was right to increase the supply like that… on the one hand, I want more people to have opportunities, but on the other hand, I don't want to hurt the people who already work at the factory. I guess this is what being a politician feels like."

"You worry too much," Bud said. "If people are going to get hurt no matter what you do then just do whatever you think is best at the time and see how it plays out."

"Well, I'm just hoping that I'll come up with a solution if I think hard enough," Ness replied, "But it appears that economics don't work that way. I can see now why people can devote their whole lives to studying economic principles and still make the wrong decision in a recession."

"There doesn't seem to be a right way of doing things," Bud said. "Something always turns out for the worst even when you think it's best at the time."

Ness sighed.

"I suppose that you're right, as much as I want to reject your pessimistic words. Man, I never thought that I'd feel _bad_ for a politician, but here I am. Making all of these decisions must wear down on the mind."

"It's why most would change into heartless greedy people after a while. It's less painful that way," Bud shrugged. "Not that any of it matters to me. I just do what I'm told."

"Really?" Ness asked. "Because I think that you just summed up Porky quite well."

"I don't claim to know Master Porky as well as you did. But being his mindless slave for two years had allowed me to see him as that kind of person," Bud answered. "You were once friends with him, correct?"

"Yep," Ness said. "Like I said before, he always had issues. His parents were pretty awful; I think that they caused him to develop self-esteem issues. But he was never outright heartless… not until Giygas. So let me get this straight. You know that Porky's a heartless, greedy monster, but you just don't care?"

"I already told you; I _can't_ care for anything. I am just to do what I am ordered to, nothing more and nothing less. I thought I had told you this already. Besides, he's my master, no matter if he's good, evil or even a spoiled child," Bud answered.

"Well, I just always pictured you as being somewhat deluded," Ness said. "But as you just showed, you know everything about your state. I just don't know how I could _not care_ that I had been brainwashed and turned into a chimera after leading a pretty standard childhood."

"I have not been brainwashed, rather, I was created," Bud sighed. "I thought I told you that too. You seem to be the deluded one here to think that I was someone else before."

"Oh right…" Ness said. "You still don't believe Porky about that. That's a little scary, you know. Only someone fundamentally broken would deny looking into their potentially vivacious past."

"I can see you're not going to give up on that any time soon either," Bud said with another sigh. "Hmm…" He looked down at his mechanical arm. "I really should go see Dr. Andonuts about these glitches soon, before they start going out of hand."

 _Oh no,_ Ness thought. _Not this again. At least he kept his promise and told me._

"Bud," Ness said wearily. "It's not a glitch. It's who you are. It's who you're _supposed to be._ "

The mechanical arm switched to cannon mode suddenly, startling Ness, and Bud clenched his teeth as if it took effort to change it back.

"I still think those are glitches too, but I was referring to my arm cannon. It's been acting up lately," Bud answered. "I usually need appointments with Dr. Andonuts to make sure I stay functional."

 _Well, I can't really pull out my trump card against that,_ Ness thought. _I would look like a brainless, stubborn child… which I suppose that I am._

"All right," Ness said hesitantly. "Just… please don't tell him that you have a personality now, all right? I would hate to lose you."

"It would be wise if I talked to him about that too." Bud frowned, looking at Ness. "But I suppose I'll keep my promise until there's a real reason that I need to get rid of these glitches."

Ness sighed in relief.

"Well, I should probably check up with Porky," he said. "Have fun at your doctor's appointment… said nobody ever. Well, goodbye."

When the two boys went their separate ways, Ness strode over Porky's throne room again. He took in the grey, lifeless walls, trying not to let them get to him. Upon entering the throne room, Porky spoke:

"So Ness… I got your report on how you handled the situation. You sure made an awful lot of promises."

"They were stubborn," Ness said. "And some of the issues there were quite serious. The train should not cost money for factory workers. If it's any solace, the equilibrium wage will probably drop a bit after more people start looking for jobs there. And what kind of company doesn't provide access to basic health insurance, _especially_ when working in the mines? This isn't 1850, Porky."

"Have you SEEN Tazmily? It might as well be." Porky laughed before coughing. "In this timeline there weren't such things as companies or money, let alone health insurance. I've provided them with money and hospitals for the sick. But even I can't keep everyone healthy all the time. The job comes at their own risks. All I wanted you to do was to give them tickets to Club Titiboo to keep them nice and happy."

"Which is exactly what I did," Ness said. "How long do you think Club Titiboo would keep them happy? Workers always want more, Porky. They'll start slouching again next month. We need to give them a reason other than basic survival and shallow enjoyment to work."

"Oh I'm sure it would keep them nice and happy." Porky wheezed. "But you've already made all those promises, so the damage's already been done. So how has it been hanging around the Pigmasks? Oh right, you've been too busy playing with my mindless robot."

"Why would I want to interact with the pigmasks?" Ness asked. "I had my fill with zealots back in Happy Happy village. Now I see that _you're_ playing the new Carpainter. How does that feel, to finally end up as the ruler and not the second in command?"

"It feels awesome," Porky wheezed. "However it's all I can do with this life of mine as I can never die or fade away. I might as well turn the entire world into my playground and make sure everyone likes me and those who don't will be destroyed."

Ness pretended to look shocked.

"That's _not_ what you're already doing?" he asked incredulously, trying not to smile.

"Not yet, but I will be soon," Porky said, either missing or ignoring Ness's 'shocked' look. "I'm making plans with Fassad about it… but it may take some time before we're ready. Or more precisely before my mindless robot is ready."

"What does he have to do with anything?" Ness asked. "Dr. Andonuts implied that even his PSI was not the reason that he was brainwashed. What else does he have to offer, I wonder?"

"Oh his PSI was a pretty big reason, but not the _only_ one," Porky said as he grinned. "He was a lot like you, Ness, when we first brought him in. Strong spirited, cracking jokes, wanting justice and all that cheesy stuff. It took a while to break him, but we eventually did. He's special because he carries the same kind of spirit you did."

 _That can't be it,_ Ness thought, trying to record Porky's words in his mind so that he could repeat them to Bud. _His spirit? What does that have to do with anything?_

"Care to elaborate?" Ness asked.

"I don't believe in reincarnations or any of that stuff," Porky said. "But if there were such a thing, I'd say he'd be the closest thing to a reincarnation of you, Ness. He has his own personality that makes him different too, but it was still enough to make me want him as my mindless slave more than anything else."

"I mean, why does that make him special?" Ness asked. "There are plenty of idiots like me; why him?"

"Oh Ness, you call yourself an idiot yet you don't realize how much of a genius you are sometimes," Porky wheezed. "Then again maybe you are an idiot. If I have to explain this, it would take all day before you get it."

 _Genius?_ Ness thought. _Since when?_

"Oh, I'm _sure_ it's my stupidity and not the fact that you just don't want me to know," Ness replied sarcastically. "Seriously, you just sit around in your mech all day. You will live for thousands of years; time itself carries little meaning for you. Tell the truth, Porky. The time that it takes to explain is not what you're worried about."

"Heh, and you still call yourself an idiot." Porky chuckled. "Sorry Ness, but I'm not going to explain everything to you. Remember who's in real control here, Ness. I could have you brainwashed like my mindless slave if I wanted to."

"Well, why didn't you?" Ness asked, genuinely curious. "Why not brainwash me? I've been thinking about that question for quite some time, yet I can find no available reason."

"Because what's the fun in that? All these Pigmask soldiers just do what I say, mainly because they're all practically brainwashed thanks to the happy boxes. And my mindless robot was definitely more of a challenge, he put up quite a fight before we finally broke him. But I've grown bored of just soldiers always being so loyal, so why not try to have one who isn't brainwashed for a change? I gotta say Ness… you certainly keep things interesting," Porky answered. "You always did when we were neighbors."

 _Happy boxes?_ Ness thought, making a mental note to ask Bud about them.

"Thanks," Ness muttered sarcastically. "That's my end goal. I want nothing but to make an interesting story. Forget actual emotions or morals… Ah, why am I telling you this? You know me well enough already. Is there anything else that you want to tell me?"

"There is one more thing," Porky wheezed. "Do you remember Giygas, Ness?"

Ness flashed a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I never forget him, Porky."

Before Porky could elaborate further, a pigmask rushed into the room, either screeching or squealing to a halt- Ness couldn't tell which.

"K-King P!" the pigmask exclaimed. "It's a catastrophe! I don't know what to say!"

"Just say it. If it's that bad then spill it already," Porky grumbled in irritation at being interrupted.

"Uh, of course, King P! I just didn't know how to say it the right way. Er…" the pigmask trailed off, looking at Porky's disapproving face in discomfort. "Some people angered the cattlesnakes near the factory, sir! They're rampaging through the factory… I mean the cattlesnakes, not the humans, sir."

"Ugh… who are the idiots that angered the chimeras?" Porky demanded.

"Uh… apologies, sir!" The pigmask said. "That's all the report said."

"Ness! Get your co-commander and get to the factory now! I need that for a certain goal I have in mind," Porky demanded the boy.

 _Not so emotionless after all, huh?_ Ness thought smugly.

"What PSI do I have?" Ness asked. "I need to know before I fling myself into danger."

"You still have your basic ones. Your PK Rockin alpha thing, your Lifeup and Healing alpha, whatever. Now hurry!"

"A weapon," Ness said. "Does the other commander have a spare one with him?"

"Just grab a bat in your room and go!"

Ness nodded. He ran through the halls, making his way to the room that apparently belonged to him- he hardly spent any of his time in there, so he had to check to make sure. He saw a wooden bat lying on his bed and picked it up, examining the make.

 _Not bad… not bad at all. I should really keep this thing on me at all times._

Ness turned back around and ran towards Dr. Andonuts' office, hoping that Bud was still there. He flung open the door and saw the young commander conversing with the chimera doctor.

"You!" Dr. Andonuts shouted. "Stop interrupting our check-ups! Commander or no, I will not let you…" he trailed off as he saw that Ness wasn't reacting.

"Bud," Ness said, his voice not revealing the panic that he felt. "Emergency at the factory. Prepare for combat and take off as soon as possible."

Bud looked over at Ness before turning back to the doctor. "I apologize, I had better go. Is my arm cannon ready for combat?"

"I fixed up most of the glitches, but it may not be as powerful until I'm able to tune it up," Dr. Andonuts answered reluctantly, still glaring at Ness as if the whole thing were somehow _his_ fault.

"I will have to work with what I have now," Bud said as he got on his feet. "Let's go, Ness."

"Are we going to get there the same way as before?" Ness asked.

"Unless you have a faster way, yes we are," Bud answered.

"And you know how to psionic stall, right?" Ness asked.

"... What?" Bud blinked at that and Ness had to take that as a 'no'.

"It might go by a different name in this world, but it's a technique that allows you to delay damage if you focus hard enough," Ness explained. "That way, you can survive until I can heal you."

"Hmm… No, I've never heard of such a technique. I haven't been in a lot of major fights other than putting down troubled chimeras,," Bud answered. "You can tell me more on the way." He activated his jetwings.

 _Well, that's really all there is to it,_ Ness thought. _It's a pretty intuitive technique. I guess his lack of fear in combat meant that he didn't try to use his psionic powers in defensive ways._

Ness nodded as Bud picked him up and started flying through the halls. Eventually, Bud flew out of an exit. Ness only then realized how high he was off of the ground. He let out a gasp, trying not to worry about falling.

 _Actually,_ Ness thought. _One of the applications of psionic stall that I've found is surviving long falls. I can delay the damage to my body and heal myself right before I die. I could wriggle my way free and escape onto the streets of New Pork, and nobody would ever be able to find me again._

The prospect was tempting, but Ness knew in his heart that he couldn't. He couldn't leave Bud as a heartless robot. He couldn't leave Porky as a mindless robot.

"So Bud," Ness shouted, trying to be heard over the sound of the wind. "Psionic stall is pretty easy. Just… focus on staying alive when you get damaged. I learned it during my first fight, so I know that you can do it."

"Focus on staying alive…? Is it really that simple?" Bud asked him back over the winds.

"Yeah, all of my friends knew how to do it, and one of them didn't even have psionic powers. Perhaps there are innate psionic abilities in us all… but I digress. I should stop trying to talk over this wind."

Bud didn't answer back. It didn't take them long to reach the factory, and upon approaching it they could see it was being run over by a herd of cow snake creatures.

"Oh my," Ness said with a gasp. "It's already been trashed. Wait… are there people over there? I think I see two…"

"Cattlesnakes." Bud said. "They're usually content chimeras, but they are very dangerous and very strong, it's not wise to provoke them. Well Ness, I'm going to land us right in the middle of the herd, are you ready to fight?"

"Yeah," Ness replied with a smirk. "I can take a lot of punishment and still walk out with a smile. It takes a lot to kill someone like me. Maybe that's why I act so reckless and stupid…"

Bud landed them in front of the two people; he didn't pay them much attention but seemed to want to protect them. Ness _hoped_ that he wanted to protect them.

"You…?" One of them gasped behind them.

Ness didn't have time to look and see who was talking to him, as one of the Cattlesnakes was charging at them. Bud reacted first by turning his mechanical hand into the cannon and blasted it away with a concentrated PSI blast. Ness joined the fray, wanting to look at the people behind him but knowing that a moment's hesitation could leave an opening in his defenses.

"Let's try this…" Ness said. "Offense up alpha!"

Nothing happened.

Ness swore in his head as a cattlesnake charged towards him. Normally, Ness would have preferred to leap to the side, but he didn't want the chimera to charge into the people behind him. Ness met the charge with his bat, the force of the impact almost sending the bat out of his hand.

These cattlesnakes were a lot tougher than Ness thought; Bud wasn't kidding when he said they were strong and dangerous. Bud held out a small hilt of a sword but his hand cackled with electricity, causing it to turn yellow and a blade came out of it. Using the lightning sword, Bud slash the cattlesnake and caused its entire body to twitch in shock.

"PK Rockin alpha!" Ness shouted, throwing bright psychedelic colors of psionic energy at the other cattlesnakes, forcing them back. "Do you have this one, Bud?"

"This is too easy,," Bud said back to him.

"All right," Ness said. He turned back to face the people behind him. "Wait… you guys? _Again_?"

"It's a small world, huh?" Lucas asked, looking at the other cattlesnakes in worry.

"Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but what are you guys doing here?" Ninten asked, holding up his broken stick.

Bud just blasted more cattlesnakes his PSI cannon before slashing through them with his lightning sword without hesitation.

"Fight now, talk later," Ness said, looking towards the horde of chimeras. "Hey Bud, can you take these guys to safety?"

"I'm a little busy right now," Bud said back to him. "PK Fire!" He shot out flames from his hands and burned most of the cattlesnakes in the area.

Ness ran forward and swatted the chimera engaged with Bud, dealing no real damage.

"And now you're not," he said. "Take them to safety! You have wings, man!"

"We can fight," Lucas said, his determination surprising Ness. "Do you have weapons?"

"Yeah, we're not going to run away now!" Ninten said, sharing his determination.

"Why do you two want to fight? This factory means nothing to you," Bud questioned them.

 _What part of "fight now, talk later" does nobody understand?_ Ness wondered. _This hesitation could cost lives!_

"It doesn't matter," Ness said. "Do you have any spare weapons?"

"I did not bring any spare weapons," Bud said back. "But if they need to fight that badly then why don't you give them your bat?"

Ness tossed Lucas his bat. The blond caught it deftly, raising an eyebrow.

"Ninten," Ness said. "Stick with me. Lucas, go with Bud, but come over to me if you need healing. Ninten, you're going to have to fight with that broken stick. Let's go!"

Without waiting for a response, Ness charged at a cattlesnake that was about to flank Bud. He slammed his foot into the chimera, feeling it connect with flesh. The chimera swept its tail out, slamming Ness in the face. Only his combat experience allowed Ness to remain standing.

 _Ninten, you'd better get over here soon…_

Ninten gave Lucas a small push over to Bud. Lucas seemed hesitant and Ninten was trying to encourage him without really saying anything. Ninten gave him a nod before he ran over towards Ness. The cattlesnake let out an angry roar as it was about to buck Ness in the face, but Ninten managed to slam his broken stick into its head, causing it to screech in pain and buck its feet in the air wildly away from Ness.

"Go for the sides!" Ness shouted, not wanting to spare even a moment to thank Ninten before the fight was over. "The head and tail are dangerous. Watch your back, too. More chimeras will come."

Ness swung his fist at another cattlesnake, trying to stop it from tackling Ninten. Ninten himself was holding up pretty well for someone who Ness assumed had little to no battle experience. Ninten looked like he kept pointing at the cattlesnake like he's trying to do something without actually touching them, but the boy kept getting a confused look on his face whenever he did.

"Whatever you're trying to do isn't working!" Ness exclaimed as the cattlesnake big his arm. He leapt to the side and kicked the chimera under the stomach, which seemed to slow it down. "Fix it later! Go for something else!"

"I don't know what I'm trying to do either! It just felt like instinct!" Ninten yelled back as he kicked a cattlesnake's side to get it away from him.

 _My gosh,_ Ness thought. _You're holding a stick in your hands, Ninten. Use it!_

Another cattlesnake charged at Ness. He took its attack in stride, not wanting it to ram into Ninten. He tried to fight both of them at once, but he fared poorly without a weapon.

 _This isn't working…_

"Lifeup alpha!" Ness shouted, touching a hand to his body as he jumped away from the cattlesnakes. "Ninten! We can't deal with these guys! Let's group up with Bud and Lucas."

"Okay!" Ninten yelled back as he just smacked away another cattlesnake with the broken stick.

Ness looked up to try to find where Bud and Lucas went. They weren't too far away, but he was rather surprised that they were holding well themselves and were working together pretty well at least. Lucas bashed away the cattlesnakes that came too close while Bud used his PSI cannon or offensive PSI at the further away ones.

 _Guess they're both naturals,_ Ness thought. He ran through the line of chimeras, hearing Ninten's footsteps behind him. The cattlesnakes charged at the retreating boys, their enraged faces showing no mercy. Ness flung himself in front of Ninten, taking their attacks with gritted teeth. He wasn't kidding when he had told Bud that it would take a lot to bring him down.

"N-Ness! You're hurt!" He heard Ninten shout in concern. "You gotta stop jumping in front like that! I don't care if you're some big commander, you're still human and a kid!"

"Psionics gives me extra durability," Ness said. "Besides, I can always heal myself if I need to. We need someone to stall until Bud blows up all of the chimeras, and I'm betting that I can take more punishment. Now get over there!"

Ness picked up running again, this time making it over to Bud and Lucas before the cattlesnakes could charge at him again.

"Ninten and I can't do enough damage," he said, "So we had to pull back. New plan: everyone protect Bud while he beats the living crap out of them with his cannon and offensive PSI."

"Don't any of you have offensive PSI?" Bud asked. "I'm getting kind of tired myself. I can't keep this up all day you know."

 _Oh, you can't?_

Ness nodded curtly.

"It doesn't do much, but I have enough psionic energy to use it almost indefinitely." _Which I should have been doing from the start… ah, screw my instincts that tell me to go in for melee attacks! I don't know what to do without my weapon._ "I can still go in the front line, though. Let's try to fend them back, all right, Ninten and Lucas?"

"You just try not to get yourself killed," Ninten said to Ness. "You're pretty dang reckless. Psionics or not, you can still die."

"There is one PSI I haven't used yet and it's considered my most powerful one," Bud said.

"What does it do?" Ness demanded.

"It can hit all enemies in a cone in front of me and causes massive damage," Bud answered. "But I don't usually use it much."

A lightbulb went off in Ness' head.

"And you have energy to use it… how many times?"

By now, some of the cattlesnakes had engaged Lucas and Ninten. Ness wanted to help them, but he _needed_ this information.

"As of right now, about four times only. It's a costly PSI," Bud answered.

"Good enough," Ness said, scanning the area. "Everyone, into the factory. Quickly!"

The factory was mostly ruined, but it would provide Ness with what he needed. They entered the shaky remains of the building through the front door, which was barely wide enough for two or three chimeras to charge through side by side. Ness motioned for all of them to stand in the doorway.

"What is this plan of yours?" Ninten demanded after they went into the factory.

Ness looked around and grabbed a metal pole that had been broken in a way that gave it a sharp tip. He tossed it to Ninten.

"You and Lucas stay at the front. Ninten, hold out that piece of metal like a spear. It will stop any chimera that charges at you. Bud, prepare to use your PSI. As for me… PK Rockin Alpha!"

Chaotic energy of various colors once again assaulted a group of the cattlesnakes. He used the ability a few more times, making sure to hit every chimera at least ones. About a dozen cattlesnakes remained, and every one of them looked at Ness' party angrily.

"They're getting ready to charge…" he whispered. "Okay… they're charging now… Bud, use you PSI!"

Bud's hand sparked with blue energy, energy that got Lucas's attention. Bud pointed his hands at the incoming herd. "PK Love!"

Blue hexagonal energy exploded all over the cattlesnakes; the attack itself was brighter and bigger than Ness's Rockin alpha was.

"We just needed to get them in one place," Ness said. "It looks like some of them are still standing. Use it again!"

"PK Love!" Bud sent out the powerful blue hexagonal energy over the cattlesnakes again. He was starting to sweat from using it twice in a row.

"One more time!" Ness shouted.

"PK Love!" The energy exploded once more. By now Bud was panting, barely having enough mental energy for one more.

Luckily, he didn't need to use one more. All of the chimeras lay dead on the ground, none of them having made it to Lucas or Ninten. Ness let out a sigh of relief.

"I apologize for horrible decision-making," he said. "We should have done that from the start. Thanks for saving me from being smacked a bunch of times, Ninten. Is there anything else that I'm forgetting?"

"... Um… wait, did he use 'PK Love'?" Ninten asked, pointing at Bud in shock. "I thought that Ionia man-lady said it was special…"

"She did," Lucas said, looking at Bud intently. "I guess it's just a coincidence that another person can use it."

"Wait, you can use PSI?" Ness asked, healing himself over and over with lifeup alpha.

"Well… yeah," Ninten said after hesitating a bit. "But we ran out during our battle of survival before you two showed up. Lucas knows how to use PK Love, but we didn't know there was another who could use it."

"I wasn't aware that another could learn PK Love either." Bud said, sounding curious himself.

"It seems like everyone can use PSI these days," Ness said, shaking his head. "But where is everyone else?"

In that moment, a man walked up to Ness. Ness recognized him as Bronson.

"I went up to check on you kids, but it seems like most of you are all right," he said. "And were you the ones who took care of the chimeras?"

"Yes, it was us," Bud answered, sounding as emotionless as before.

"It was mostly them," Ninten said, gesturing to Bud and Ness.

"Mostly him," Ness said, gesturing towards Bud. "But in all seriousness, is everyone okay?"

Bronson nodded.

"Some of us are in the tunnels, while others fled to the woods nearby. A few of us are injured, though."

"We should probably get them medical attention…" Ness said. "But the chimeras probably destroyed the train, huh? Which means… we should take them to Club Titiboo."

"Um… what now?" Ninten asked.

"It's a club for workers to relax," Bud answered the Ness look-alike. "How are we going to take all the people up there? They're scattered from the chimera attack."

"It will take time," Ness said. "But we can do it. If we need to, you can fly back to Tazmily and to pick up a doctor and fly him up there, but we can't just leave them suffering," Ness looked around at the ruins of the factory. "It looks like some people just lost their jobs."

"Lucas, I can't help but wonder if we're cursed or something," Ninten sighed sadly. "It's like every job we take it ends up in a disaster."

Ness looked at his doppelganger and Lucas, feeling pity seep into his heart.

"I'm sorry," Ness whispered. "I will do what I can as soon as I make it back to the base. For now, though, we should take everyone to club Titiboo… let's go."

Ness sighed. Before, he had always won fights to restore the world back to its former state. This victory wasn't one of those. Victories shouldn't result in so much pain.

 _And yet there's nothing more that I could have done,_ Ness thought. That realization made him feel so weary.

"Ness. I will take these two to the club while you start the search, okay?" Bud spoke up as he activated his jetwings.

Ness just gave a nod to him as Bud picked up both Lucas and Ninten's shirt, flying them up to the sky.

With pain in his eyes and longing in his heart, Ness left the factory to search for other victims of this fundamentally evil struggle.


	11. Chapter 11: Club Titiboo

**DarkFoxKit: You ever had one of those days when there's a storm out there and you're worried if your cats or dogs outside will be okay?**

 **Connor: Brooding storms… kinda relates to our story, huh? A pretty big chimera storm just hit our characters. What will they do? (Insert more teasers here)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Well then, let's get on with it, shall we?**

 **Shimo no ko** **: Glad you like this chapter so much. Porky and Ness do bounce off each other pretty well in this story, and yelling at the two brothers will do nothing unfortunately. ^^'**

 **Connor: Well, I'm reluctant to agree with Fox and say that Ness and Porky's relationship (as well as anything else in this story, actually) is good because it comes off as arrogant and my writing honestly sucks right now haha. But thanks! :) And hey, if yelling is cathartic, then why not? ...Unless you have a family like mine and it bugs them. Thanks! :)**

 **A Fan:**

 **DarkFoxKit: Ness's plan huh? Yeah, that's a fun 'plan'. XD Personally if you compare PSI Rockin with PK Love, both in alpha stages, PK Love is generally more powerful of the two, that and Ness once used PSI Rockin in the Omega stage so the alpha stage would be pretty weak in comparison. So yeah, this Ness is post Earthbound. ^^'**

 **Mental exhaustion could also make you physically tired, in cases like this I would imagine using up a lot of psychic powers would exhaust them both physically and mentally.**

 **As for Ninten, it's mostly his battle instinct taking over, but because of his memory loss he had no idea what he was doing, thus why it looked odd to everyone with him pointing like that and nothing happening.**

 **Connor: Thanks. :) I think that the plot's going to continue to be like that, which is both good and bad. It's good because it keeps readers on their toes (if my writing isn't crappy, that is), but bad because it's sometimes a good idea to have general goals that the characters want. Right now, they're all kind of living in the moment. And hey, the ideas flooding to my head thing is how I end up writing my stories. It's how Ceres turned from a 200k word projection to a 600k work projection across three books. And congrats. :)**

 **Guest:** **The face Lucas had as Claus used PK Love? Heh, yeah it's pretty easy to see how shocked he is. Connor and I enjoy giving our characters more character and personality.**

 **Connor: Heh, I'll take credit for most of the economy and psychology things. :) Thanks! I also like to talk about political stuff, but there's not much room in a story like this for that. It's way easier to do in epic fantasy, so it comes more naturally to me when I'm writing Ceres… but that's kind of a tangent. Thanks! :)**

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** **Connor: I think that Mother 3 is going to haunt all of us to the grave. ;) Yup, Lucas and Ninten suffer from the curse of authors needing to create conflict. It's the worst kind of curse, one that I hope never happens to you. D:**

 **crabbyTomato:** **It seems kinda contradictory doesn't it? I think maybe because Claus is so close to Lucas maybe he could smell his scent then? Cause when I tried to get Boney to sniff Claus before it was said he couldn't pick up a scent. ^^'**

 **Maybe Ness got good with economics after his adventure due to his father's money? I mean he did seem to get a lot near the end of the game.**

 **I like how they didn't keep to our expectations with Mother 3. Claus does look like someone who would be the main protagonist rather than Lucas, but I like how different they are. And Mother 3 does have more of a tragic story while Earthbound has more of a dark story to it.**

 **You'd be surprised how many people are aware of their predicament but don't care about it. Being a 'slave' and not caring could be considered sad, but to the person themselves they don't think it's sad, just that it's their existence.**

 **Connor: Yup, Ness and his friends beat the metaphorical stuffing out of Giygas. As of yet, we have no plans to include him/her/it in the story, because it would require a cheesy resurrection plot. Although, this story is called Time Distorter, so we'll see. :)**

 **Yep, Lucas knows that there's something wrong. And don't worry, I can't stand to dwell on false secrets that I write for a long time. It's one thing if it's an actual secret in Ceres, but since everyone knows who Bud is… yeah, it's going to come out. And yeah, Ness is the kinda person who weighs stuff like that heavily (I'm totally like this, even though my life has basically been a cakewalk so far). Thanks! :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Besides, things will get more fun once Bud's secret is out. ^^**

* * *

Bud landed on top of a mountain and putting Lucas and Ninten down in front of a large building. The building's neon lights illuminated the dusky sky like fireworks.

"You two can stay here and hang out, or just go on back home," Bud said in an emotionless tone to them.

"Thanks for giving us that option _before_ you dropped us on this mountain," Lucas muttered.

"It was an order from Ness," Bud said with a shrug. "I was only built to follow orders. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"I guess they don't teach him common sense at the pigmask base," Lucas said with a sigh.

"Common sense is more common among humans," Bud answered back. "Now if you're done, I must be going now."

"Yeah, whatever," Lucas said, waving Bud off. He seemed to think better of the motion, as he dropped his hand and adopted a smile. "...Thanks for the help. You might have saved our lives."

"... Human lives are important," Bud said. "Each one is a special individual. That's what Ness taught me."

"Um… you make it sound like you're not even human yourself," Ninten said.

"... I shouldn't be," Bud answered. "Yet Ness likes to insist that I am. He's delusional, but it kind of… feels nice in a way I can't explain."

"You don't need to explain why it feels nice to seem human," Lucas said. "We all understand that."

"It's illogical," Bud said. "But I suppose it's just how humans are. Now I must go; Ness may need my help." He activated his jetwings again and took off.

"I'm kind of worried about him," Ninten said to Lucas. "There's something about him that's too human to ignore, and he thinks he's not. Isn't that just sad?"

"...Yeah," Lucas said. "Even though we're battered, bruised, broke, and homeless, at least we can hang onto our identity. I guess that there's always someone worse off out there."

"Ye-wait, homeless?" Ninten looked at Lucas in shock. "Well maybe _I_ am, but you still have a home…"

"Well, father won't you stay with us," Lucas said flatly, "So I'm not staying with him. I know that I'm acting stubborn or proud, but I refuse to live under my father's roof. At least for now," Lucas sighed. "Who knows, though? What if my resolve wavers? I don't know if that would be good or bad."

"Ugh… I seem to just cause a lot of trouble since I arrived," Ninten sighed. "Well let's just see what this club thing is about; maybe it can help us relax."

Lucas nodded.

"I agree. There's no point in standing around here. Let's go…" Lucas sighed. "It feels like we have to do this so often. I don't know how long I can trudge through life like this."

"Hey, an attitude like that would just get you into trouble if you ever had to travel," Ninten said, trying to be positive. "Funny… I felt like I said something like that before… oh well."

Lucas and Ninten walked up to the club, but soon found themselves confronted with two bouncers.

"Hey," one of them said, his pointed voice causing Ninten to flinch. "No kids allowed. You two definitely smell underaged."

Lucas scowled.

"We're workers, see?" he asked, showing off his worker ID. "And we're tired from fighting for our _freaking lives._ So please just let us through."

"Hmm… you do seem battered," the bouncer replied. "And there was just a chimera rampage. _And_ you two both work at the factory. Hmm…"

"Can't you just let us in? We just want to rest after all that," Ninten said tiredly, feeling like he was about to collapse.

"... Well… we really shouldn't allow people under the age of 18 to come in here for good reason… but…" The other hesitated a bit longer before he said, "... fine, you kids can come in, but watch what you do in there."

Lucas nodded tiredly, walking into the club. Ninten followed behind, watching the bouncers hesitantly. Luckily, neither of them changed their mind as the two children entered, even though they both looked like they wanted to.

"So, we're here," Lucas said. "What do we do now?"

"Hey… there's a vending machine over there!" Ninten said excitedly as he went over to it. "I could use some soda to wake me up." He dug into his pocket before frowning. "Uh… Lucas… did we even get paid?"

"No," Lucas replied. "Remember, we were kind of preoccupied with fighting for our lives."

"... Excuse me while I go punch something and find a nice quiet place to cry," Ninten hissed lowly as his hat covered the upper part of his face.

"Hmm… so the workers are finally starting to show," came a voice behind them. "And they're not happy. I guess I can't blame them… and I also probably should talk about you like you're here."

Ninten turned around to see a pink-haired waitress standing in front of them, holding a tray.

"Let's see here…" she took some coins of her pocket, letting them clink as they fell into her other hand. "Here's 200 DP for you…" she handed the coins to Ninten. "And here's 200 DP for…" she looked at Lucas, her jaw dropping wide open.

"Long time no see, huh?" Lucas asked.

Ninten looked at Lucas and at the waitress, feeling a little lost and out of the loop. "Uh… Lucas, do you know her? … I didn't know you were _that_ kind of guy." He couldn't help but give a sly smirk there.

Lucas blushed.

"Yeah, he totally saved my life a few years ago," the waitress said, batting her eyelashes in a way that could only be taken as satirical. "He was my knight in shining armor."

"Oh is he now?" Ninten smirked again.

"Quit it!" Lucas exclaimed, his face turning from pink to deep red. "Both of you!"

"Haha!" Ninten couldn't help but laugh. "You should see the look on your face Lucas! You look like a cherry with a yellow cream on top!"

"Now that you mention it, his hair does look like whipped cream," the waitress said with a smile. "Now I'll never be able to see anything else when I look at your hair, Lucas."

"What am I supposed to _say_ to that?" Lucas asked himself in frustration.

"Maybe you can always try wearing a hat like I do." Ninten chuckled. "Wait… so you saved her life before, Lucas? Wow, I had no idea you had it in you to save a girl like that, you're even manlier than I thought!"

Lucas scowled and didn't respond.

"Alright," the waitress said. "I think that's enough fun at Lucas' expense. I _do_ really appreciate what Lucas did, after all." She turned to Ninten, extending a hand. "The name's Kumatora, but I go by Violet here."

Ninten reached out and shook her hand. "I'm Ninten, it's nice to meet you. Lucas and I only met a few days ago, but he's been helping me and I really owe a lot to him for it."

"Good job, Lucas!" Kumatora exclaimed, patting him on the back. "It's so like you to go and help out others while I… work here." She coughed.

"Why _do_ you work here?" Lucas asked.

Kumatora flashed a knowing smile. She seemed to like being in control.

"Duster," she said simply.

That name didn't mean anything to Ninten, but judging the look on Lucas's face he figured that he knew this 'Duster' person too, though that was kind of an odd name to have for a person.

"He was the person who got himself lost, right?" Lucas asked. "You were sneaking around Osohe for some reason, and he got swept away by water, or so I hear. That explanation left a lot of holes."

"Yeah," Kumatora said. "He got himself lost… and with it, the valuable object that he was guarding." Kumatora looked around the room nervously. "...Now might not be the right time to talk about this. You two should go into the auditorium. Trust me, Lucas, it will be worth your time."

Ninten felt like he was left out of another loop, and he also got the feeling that he wasn't exactly welcomed to this hush-hush discussion Kumatora wanted to have with Lucas. Once again, Ninten felt like he intruded on Lucas's personal life and he was starting to hate himself for that.

When the two head into the auditorium, Ninten looked around to see it was pretty crowded, but there were some open spots left.

"It looks like most of the workers already made their way here," Lucas observed. "And none of them look seriously injured. I hope that's a good sign, but logically the ones that made it here would be the healthiest. I still worry for the others."

"Yeah, but I guess that's up to Ness and… 'Bud' to find them," Ninten said. _What is it with these people and having dog names?_ "So uh Lucas… I'll be sitting over there in the corner, okay?"

"Hmm?" Lucas asked. "But there are still other seats open."

"Yeah, but I prefer to be away from the crowd," Ninten said. "So I'll just sit over there. You can sit wherever you want, Lucas, you don't _have_ to sit with me."

"It's fine," Lucas said. "I don't really enjoy crowds either. Besides, I don't like most of the people here. Well, I either don't like them or don't know them. I'll sit with you."

"But don't you have to discuss something with that Kumatora lady in private?" Ninten asked, feeling a little insecure.

"Nah," Lucas said. "She wanted me to see something in here." He paused, looking at Ninten closely. "Do you not want to sit with me or something? You can just tell me if that's the case."

"N-no, not at all!" Ninten exclaimed. "It's just… I don't know… I feel like I've been butting into your life since you found me. Err… hey, let's just sit down and see what Kumatora wanted us to see."

Lucas nodded, walking to some chairs in the corner of the room, taking a seat. Ninten followed suit. Before long, Kumatora entered the room, wearing an exaggerated smile that Ninten thought was forced.

"Hey, Lucas," she said, walking up to him and Ninten. "I forgot to pay you for the day's work."

She took a pouch from one of her pockets an emptied the coins into Lucas' hands.

"Uh…" Lucas said, seeming embarrassed. "You gave me more than 200 DP, Kumatora."

"Oh, I did?" she asked, walking over and examining the coins. "No, that's right." She leaned in close to Lucas, and her expression changed from smiley to annoyed. "I added a bit extra on purpose. We get reimbursed for this, so I see no reason to refrain from slipping some extra cash to you. After all, you took a beating! You and Ninten deserve more than 200 DP for your day's work."

"That's really generous of you," Ninten said with a smile. "People normally don't pay more than they have to."

"Like I said," Kumatora whispered. "I get reimbursed for this. The money isn't coming out of _my_ pocket."

"What if you get caught?" Lucas asked.

"Then I play dumb," Kumatora said. "I say that I gave you too much by accident. I have to act stupid to work here in the first place."

Ninten still wondered why she worked here in the first place, did she really need the money that badly? He remembered she mentioned Duster, but that was all she said. Who was Duster? Was he her boyfriend or something? He had so many questions but figured now wasn't the best time to ask, especially if it wasn't any of his business. Ninten figured Kumatora is more or less a short tempered kind of girl and he didn't want to incur her wrath anymore than he wanted to incur Lucas's.

"Um… so when is the show starting?" Ninten opted to ask the safest question he could think of.

"Should come any second," Kumatora replied.

"Why can't you just tell us what you want us to see?" Lucas asked.

"Because it's more fun this way," Kumatora replied. "And if you'll _excuse_ me, I have a job to get back to."

Right as she said that, a single man appeared on the stage. He looked nervous as he appeared to roll an idea around in his head. Finally, he cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to say that our band, DCMC, cannot perform tonight. One of our members was wounded by chimeras, so we cannot go on."

Kumatora swore. Ninten almost jumped at her sudden appearance again.

"Okay," she said. "Change of plans. You two are coming with me."

Before either of the boys could react, she grabbed their arms and almost started dragging them out. Ninten bit his lip to keep from yelping and causing unwanted attention, if it weren't for the fact Lucas knew this lady he would be scared that he was being kidnapped right now.

"W-where are we going?" Ninten asked as she led them out of the auditorium.

"Sorry," Kumatora whispered, releasing Lucas and Ninten. "But I'm not really supposed to do this, so I needed to move pretty quickly. As for where we're going… you'll see."

Lucas sighed.

"Why can't you just tell us?"

"Quiet," Kumatora hushed. "Like I said, we're not supposed to be doing this."

 _Ugh… I wish I could read her mind, maybe then it'd be easier to know what she wants to do with us._ Ninten thought to himself. _Wait, why was she dragging ME? I thought she only wanted Lucas?_

After about a minute of walking, they arrived at a tunnel that snaked downward.

"You two go through there," she said. "You'll find a ladder on the other size. Head up and we'll rendez-vous."

"Uh… Kuma?" Lucas said. "Dirty tunnels aren't good for Ninten's asthma."

Kumatora swore softly, making Ninten cringe.

"See, this is why you should _tell_ us your plans," Lucas said, looking a little too pleased for his own good.

Kumatora glared at Lucas.

"All right," she said to Ninten. "You might have to stay behind."

"Why? Didn't you want to show us something?" Ninten asked, not liking that he would be left out after all.

"If I come, Ninten comes too," Lucas said, his steely eyes brooking no arguments.

"I could just leave you both behind, you know," Kumatora said. "I'm breaking the rules by bringing you two here at all."

"... It's okay Lucas, you can go on ahead without me," Ninten said to the other boy. "It might be important. I'll just stay out here." _Heh, yeah right. I'll find my own way through even if it kills me._

"It's important, so you _should_ come," Lucas maintained. "Unless you really don't want to…"

"It's probably none of my business anyways, Lucas. I don't even know who Duster is, but you seem to. I'll be fine, you go on ahead okay?" Ninten said to Lucas as he eyed Kumatora.

"Kid," Kumatora said. "If you want to come, show some spine. If you don't, stay behind. I don't want you saying that it's fine and then acting all pouty later."

"What? Can you two read minds or something?" Ninten joked.

"It's pretty obvious when you say 'I'll be fine' like that," Lucas replied with a smirk.

Ninten gave an annoyed glare at Lucas. "Yes I want to go! I'm curious now! But I don't want to cause any trouble, okay?"

"But the thing is, I don't care all that much if you do cause trouble," Kumatora said. "So your desire to come outweighs the potential harm. Now, we just need to find a way to get you to the meeting place without being seen…"

"So we can't take your path because it's an employee only thing?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah," Kumatora replied. "I don't care that much if I get into trouble, but if I'm caught with someone else, people might start to ask questions. After all, I'm working undercover. If they check into my background, they might find out who I am… and what I can do."

"Undercover? Are you a spy?" Ninten asked before he paled when he realized he said that out loud. "E-err… just ignore me! I have a wild imagination! Heh…"

Kumatora smiled.

"No need to act so nervous, kid. I don't bite. Much."

"I'm sure he feels relieved after that," Lucas said, rolling his eyes. "But I guess you are a spy, huh?"

Kumatora nodded.

"So what's here?" Lucas asked. "Why club Titiboo?"

"You'll see," Kumatora said with an insufferable smile.

"So we have to go through the attic?" Ninten asked. "I think I can take a little dust, my asthma isn't so bad, I just seem to mostly react to fumes more than dust."

"Not going to risk your life, kid," Kumatora said, shaking her head. "There must be another way…"

"So, what if Ninten went with you, but you had an excuse for why he doesn't connect to your past?"

"I guess…" Kumatora said. "But what excuse would I possibly have for hanging out with a random boy…?" Suddenly, her eyes lit up in horror. "Oh no," she said. "I can tell what you're thinking, and I don't like it one bit."

Lucas grinned triumphantly.

"You have to admit that it makes sense," he said.

Ninten looked at them both, really wishing he knew what they were thinking about. "What? What is it? Come on, don't leave me in the dark!"

Kumatora scowled.

"I really don't like this," she muttered.

"You're going to pretend to be her boyfriend," Lucas told Ninten.

"... What." Ninten stared at Lucas, waiting for him to laugh and tell him he was joking. Lucas looked dead serious about this before Ninten quickly said, "Are you kidding me, Lucas? Nobody's going to believe a 13 year old boy is her boyfriend! It'd be more believable if she was babysitting me or something!"

"I'm only a few years older than you," Kumatora said. "Besides, you're tall. You could pass for 15. But I still don't like it…" she glared at Lucas. "This is punishment for making fun of you saving me, isn't it?"

"Hey, the idea makes sense," Lucas said. "We're not risking Ninten's asthma going off, and you have an excuse if you get caught."

Kumatora scowled.

"I wish that your arguments didn't make so much sense…" she trailed off, looking at Ninten. "How do you feel about this? What's worse, me or the tunnel?"

Ninten really didn't have a right way to answer that. He rather risk the tunnel, because he had a strong feeling someone would be really angry at him if he went through with this, on the other hand he really didn't want his asthma going off again either. And if he said the wrong thing, there's a high chance he could offend Kumatora.

"Uhhhh… c-couldn't I just be your little brother or something?" Ninten suggested hopefully.

"But she has no reason to let her brother into an employee-only zone," Lucas pointed out with a smirk. "A boyfriend, though…"

"Don't discount the idea," Kumatora said. "That would work better, actually. Ninten, you look pretty hurt. If we get caught, I'll say that you're my brother and I wanted to take you to my room to treat you and make sure you're all right."

"Aw," Lucas said. "That's no fun."

"Do I still look hurt?" Ninten asked as he looked down at himself, his clothes were a little torn and dirty, but he looked fine otherwise. "Brother or boyfriend, it still would be tricky to pull off. Let's just pick one and get this over with."

"Brother," Kumatora said without missing a beat. "Not that I don't like you, Ninten, but I hate having to act romantic."

"You guys are no fun," Lucas repeated.

"What? Were you hoping for us to screw up?" Ninten grumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit.

"Nah, I was hoping for you two to act super embarrassed and awkward as we split up," Lucas said.

"You're evil," Ninten hissed. "Let's just get this over this."

"So I'm evil for that, but you and Kuma ganging up to make fun of me for saving someone's life is fine?" Lucas asked, shaking his head as he started walking down the tunnel.

"That makes all three of us evil then!" Ninten pouted as Lucas disappeared into the tunnel. He sighed before turning to Kumatora. "Um… okay, so what do we have to do… big sis?"

Kumatora laughed.

"It sounds so weird to hear you say that! We need to backtrack and take the official route to my room. Hopefully, nobody will see us, but if they do then we put on the act. You can pretty much act however you want and it will work out, assuming that I play things right. Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's do this." Ninten nodded. "I'll just follow you since you know your way around here better than I do."

Kumatora lead Ninten back to the place outside the auditorium. People filled the room, drinking and laughing, but nobody seemed to pay attention to Kumatora and Ninten. Still, Ninten noticed that Kumatora seemed a little more reserved in her actions, and often glanced back at Ninten in worry. She lead him into another room away from the people, releasing a sigh as she closed the door behind her.

"Acting docile is exhausting," she muttered.

Ninten frowned a bit and wondered to himself if he should try to talk to her for a bit, he was pretty curious and it's eating away at him, but at the same time he was worried he might say something wrong and insult her. "Um… a-are you acting like that because of the waitress thing?"

"That, and the fact that I'm pretending to be your older sister who wants to take you to her room to make sure that you're okay. It doesn't suit me, but it's better than the romantic thing… no offense."

"None taken," Ninten said, feeling a little relieved. "I felt like someone would really hate my guts if we went that route, even if it wasn't real."

"You worry too much," she said. "Let's keep going. We don't want someone to overhear us."

Ninten stayed quiet as he followed her. They were coming into a hallway that lead to a door with a big sigh that said "Employees Only". Ninten gulped, knowing things are going to be tricky once they step through there.

When they entered the door, there was another long hallway with a lot of doors on the wall. Ninten's eyes widen when he noticed a familiar bodyguard that was outside of the entrance earlier and almost didn't let him and Lucas in. _Uh-oh… he'll recognize me for sure!_ Ninten quickly put his hat over his face to try and hide it as much as possible.

"Violet," the guard said. "Who is that? The sign outside says 'employees only' for a reason."

At this, Kumatora's posture seemed to crack. She looked so weak, standing there as her body shook slightly. She turned to Ninten and looked at him with wide, desperate eyes.

"I… this is my brother," Kumatora said, her voice shaking as she put a hand on his shoulder. "He was hurt by the chimeras. I have to make sure that he's okay. Please… I can't let him go without making sure that he's not hurt."

All in all, it was quite a convincing performance. Ninten wondered if he should just stay quiet or say something like how normally a little brother would say to an overbearing sister.

"Huh, I suppose that you would want to," the guard said in disapproval. "You're too soft, Violet." He turned to Ninten. "Didn't _you_ see the sign, kid? Employees only. I know that Violet is easily swayed by passion, but I had hoped that anyone she brought along wouldn't be so impractical."

Ninten looked down, trying not to give him an annoyed look. "I can't help it if my sister decided to drag me around everywhere with her."

"I know what's best for him," Kumatora said, walking uncomfortably close to Ninten and patting him on the head. He didn't need to pretend to look annoyed. "He's so young! Young and headstrong and foolish! He won't tend to his injuries unless I make him."

The guard took a long look at Ninten.

"He doesn't look very hurt," he said.

Kumatora gasped.

"Just look at him!" she shouted. "Scratches and cuts everywhere! I can't let him go like this! Those cuts could get infected, you know. I have some bandages in my room that will keep him protected." She glared at the guard, her venomous eyes causing him to take a step back. "Unless _you_ stand in my way."

"Oh sis, really, I'm fine!" Ninten argued, she was almost smothering him at this rate.

Kumatora shook her head in disapproval, backing away.

"You just don't understand how much I worry about you. Now let's go and get those cuts bandaged. You want this to be over as soon as possible, right?"

"Y-yes sis," Ninten pouted, trying to look like he didn't want to follow her.

"..." The guard was looking between the two, still skeptical.

"Is there a problem?" Kumatora asked, her voice falsely sweet.

"Uh… w-well… I really shouldn't be doing this… b-but since it's a family emergency… very well, but make it quick," The guard said as he stepped out of their way. Ninten could hardly believed that it worked.

After they passed the guard, Kumatora dropped her facade, looking relieved.

"Sorry about that," she said. "But hey, at least you didn't have to _act_ uncomfortable."

"You were smothering me…" Ninten grumbled. "That part wasn't really acting. But hey, at least we made it."

Kumatora rolled her eyes.

"I was hardly touching you," she said. "You could have just turned around and had plenty of personal space. But I guess that it doesn't matter."

Kumatora walked up to a door. As she turned the doorknob, Ninten heard a sound coming from the hall. Lucas popped around the corner, carrying his mud-covered shoes so that they wouldn't leave a mark.

"How did it go?" Lucas asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Kumatora muttered.

Lucas laughed.

"Must have been real bad, huh?" he asked Ninten.

"... Let's just say she was really getting into character," Ninten said back to Lucas. "And by that I mean she almost convinced _me_ that she was an overprotective older sister."

"It was horrible," Kumatora added.

"Well," Lucas said. "Nothing to do about it now. Let's head in, shall we?"

"Glad to see that you're enjoying yourself," Kumatora muttered as she opened the door.

Five men stood inside. Well, four of them stood while one was lying down on a couch. He looked unremarkable, with an afro wig, a medium-sized mustache, and a knee that seemed to jut out of his leg. Numerous cuts and bruises lined his body.

Lucas gasped.

"Duster!" he exclaimed, turning to Kumatora. "What is he doing here?"

 _That's Duster? He doesn't look too good…_ Ninten frowned as he looked at him.

"He doesn't remember anything before two years ago," Kumatora said. "Including us."

Ninten perked up at this. _He has amnesia too? Maybe whatever happened to him is the same thing that happened to me…_

"Violet," one of the other men said, his voice calm yet somehow desperate. "Lucky is hurt. You have abilities that can heal the body, yes?"

"I _did,_ " Kumatora said, shaking her head, "But I already used all of my psionic energy. You'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" the man asked. "That could be too late. Some of those wounds look serious."

"I'm sorry," Kumatora said angrily, seeming flustered as she walked up to the man. "But there's _nothing that I can do._ Do you think that I enjoy watching him suffer? I knew him before he came to your band!"

Ninten looked over at Lucas and wondered if maybe he could help him, but he looked back at the suffering man and a brief vision of someone hurt flashed through his mind's eye.

Ninten walked over to the injured man and put a hand over it. Without really thinking about it, he just concentrated and whispered, "Lifeup alpha."

Green aura surrounded the man's wounds and began closing them up. The others were watching in awe and shock, including Kumatora and Lucas. By the time Ninten was finished, he opened his eyes to see that the man was looking a lot better.

"I think that should help," Ninten said quietly before noticing everyone was staring at him. "... Uh… what?"

"So you can use PSI," Kumatora said. "When did you meet the magypsies?"

"Back a ways," Lucas answered ambiguously. "She activated both of our psionic powers." Lucas shot Ninten a cautious glance, warning him against telling the truth.

"So _you_ have PSI too, Lucas?" Kumatora asked, walking up to Duster and putting a hand on his chest. "Seems like everyone does these days."

Duster gave a slight groan before opening his eyes. "V-Violet?"

"And the rest of the band with me," Kumatora added. "This kid Ninten may have just saved your life. He healed you using PSI… oh right, you probably don't remember what that is."

"What?" Duster blinked before slowly sitting up. "Ugh… what happened to me?"

"You had a terrible fall," One of the band members said. "We thought you were a goner!"

"A fall and some bite marks," Kumatora corrected grimly. "Looks like the chimeras tried to take a piece out of you, huh?"

"O-oh… yeah. Now I remember… I was looking for something important outside when I was ambushed by those things," Duster sighed.

"Man, you really are lucky that this kid showed up when he did, Lucky," The band member said, gesturing to Ninten.

Ninten gave a small blush and said, "I-it's no big deal, r-really…"

"Saving someone's life is no big deal," Lucas said flatly. "Did you really just say that?"

"I'm just trying to be modest," Ninten grumbled. "Besides I'm not even sure how or why I even did that since I know you can do it."

"I guess it just… came to you," Kumatora said. "PSI does that. You're just walking along and then bam! You suddenly _know_ how to use a new PSI ability."

Lucas and Ninten exchanged glances. They both knew that Ninten already had learned all of his abilities. He had to remember them from the time that was shrouded in darkness to regain access to his full power. Of course Ninten wasn't all that willing to reveal that to anyone else.

"Well I thank you for saving my life," Duster said with a smile. "I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't came. And not to sound ungrateful or anything but… _why_ are you here?"

Kumatora coughed nervously.

"Lucky, do you recognize that kid there?" she asked, pointing to Lucas.

'Lucky' blinked as he looked at the blond haired kid before tilting his head. "... No, should I?"

"Yes," Kumatora replied with a sigh. "But I suppose it was a long shot. If you didn't remember _me_ from before, then I don't know how you would remember him."

"Thanks," Lucas muttered. "I really like being called unmemorable. That just made my day, Kuma."

"I guess this is one strong amnesia bug going around," Ninten joked, it was more of an inside joke between him and Lucas for obvious reasons.

"Amnesia isn't contagious," One of the band members said, blinking at what Ninten said there.

"Inside joke." Ninten waved off.

"The worst kind of joke," Kumatora muttered.

"Well what do you want me to do then?" Duster asked, frowning. "All I know is the band here as my family, but you seem to know me very well. Is there something you want from me?"

"Yes," Kumatora answered. "I'm sure that you've picked up on this, but I'm trying to get you to remember your life before the band. But I'm running out of ideas."

"Ninten," Lucas said. "Do you have any ideas of what could jog Duster's memory? You know, since..."

"Uh… well… I mean _I_ haven't even figured it out yet…" Ninten frowned before thinking. "Hmm… well maybe… it's possible I could try something using my PSI on his head, it _might_ work, but it's a long shot."

"Messing with people's minds is generally frowned upon," Kumatora said, "But our situation is more desperate than you probably realize. If you have something that might work, go for it… with Lucky's permission, of course."

Ninten nodded as he looked over at the man who calls himself Lucky, which briefly made Ninten wonder if 'Ninten' was his real name after all.

"So… can I, Mr. Lucky?" Ninten asked.

Duster couldn't help but give a chuckle at Ninten's formality there, but he nodded, "Sure, go ahead. I'm willing to try just about anything."

"Okay, thanks. I'll try not to mess anything up." Ninten chuckled nervously. _What have I gotten myself into?_

Duster stayed on his bed while Ninten climbed on it. The boy was nervous as he wasn't entirely sure what to do, but he let out a breath and tried to calm himself down as anxiety will only make it more problematic than it needed to be. Ninten put his fingers on the temples of Duster's head and focused, trying to see if he could use his PSI to read his mind or reach into his subconsciousness.

For a while, nothing happened. Ninten could already feel the eyes staring at him burning holes in his face. The boy tried to relax and try again. There's got to be a way to get into Duster's mind, the boy knew there's a way. Ninten shut his eyes and tried to concentrate harder. He could hear what sounded like static on TV but more faded, he focused harder on the static. Listening, Ninten could hear what sounded like disorientated voices, it was easy to hear but hard to understand. Trying to reach in deeper, Ninten could hear Duster's thoughts clearly.

 _I wonder if this is even going to work? Can this kid really use PSI or is everyone just pulling my leg?_

Ninten tried to block it out as it was distracting him. Concentrating harder, he tried to get past those surface thoughts to dive down deeper into the depths of Duster's subconsciousness. Everything became quieter and darker, almost as if he were underwater with no light. Ninten could hardly breathe and he feared his asthma was acting up again, but he tried to push forward. The further in he went the higher the pressure became on his mentality, he already felt exhausted but he kept pushing himself. There was a small vision of an old man, it was faded and deep in the darkness, but it was there. Ninten tried to reach out for it. He dove deeper, feeling the pressure try to force him back up. He tried to ignore the discomfort and pushed forward. Finally, he was rewarded as a single word appeared above the old man: _Wess._ Ninten tried to go further, but he suddenly blacked out.

Ninten gasped as he opened his eyes and was back in the real world, gasping for air and his face covered in sweat.

"Ninten!" Lucas exclaimed, his face painted with worry. "Are you okay?"

"Did you see anything?" Kumatora asked.

Ninten needed a few minutes to recover from that. Lucas used a small bit of Healing to keep Ninten from having another asthma attack. When the boy felt recovered enough to speak, he answered, "I… I saw… an old man… and heard a name… called 'Wess'... does… does that… mean anything… to you?"

It most certainly did. Both Lucas and Kumatora looked shocked.

"Of _course_ he remembers the geezer!" Kumatora exclaimed. "I even asked him about that name, but he didn't respond. You must have stumbled upon something well-buried, Ninten."

"Wess is Duster's father," Lucas explained. "He's unpleasant and demanding. But I think that he does care about Duster."

"I have a father?" Duster asked. "... That name does sound familiar… but…"

"So what should we do? Do you think if we brought Wess to him he'll remember more?" Ninten asked.

"Easier to bring him to Wess," Kumatora said. "The geezer is by no means senile, but he hates Fassad and everyone knows it. As a result, someone is always keeping an eye on him. I guess Fassad doesn't have enough power to kill him and keep it quiet, luckily for us."

Ninten cringed at that, he had always seen Fassad as a jolly and happy kind of guy, even if Lucas seemed to have a lot of misgivings with the man there was nothing about him that made Ninten dislike him personally. "So… will Du- I mean Lucky want to come with us then?"

Everyone turned to Duster, who was frowning at the sudden attention.

"I-I don't know… it doesn't feel right to just leave my band like this. But at the same time… I do want to know who I really am and where I came from…" Duster said with a frown, not knowing what to choose.

"Your separation will only be temporary," Kumatora said. "If we take you to Wess and you don't remember anything, you can come right back here. If you _do_ remember something… well, then you could make a choice then. But wouldn't you rather decide what you want to do with your life _after_ you've remembered everything about yourself?"

Ninten couldn't help but frown a bit at that statement as he was in the same boat as Duster is right now.

Duster frowned before he said, "... W-well… I still feel like I owe it to these guys who saved me."

"Lucky, if you feel you must go, then go. We won't mind, especially since it's an opportunity to find out who you once were," One of the band members said with a smile.

"And remember," Kumatora said. "This isn't a goodbye. Think of it as a vacation. Everyone needs one of those every once and a while, and your need is greater than most."

"Hmm… you have a good point," Duster said with a sigh. "Alright, I'll go with you guys for now and see if I really can remember anything once I see this 'Wess' person."

Kumatora sighed, her face showing more relief than Ninten had expected.

"Thank you, Ninten," she said. "You helped more than you can possibly know."

Ninten gave a small smile, "I'm glad I could help. Maybe we could get him to remember everything this way…" _Now if only someone_ I _knew would show up…_

Lucas walked up and gave Ninten a hopeful smile.

"That's right," he said. "We won't give up on curing amnesia for everyone… although I think that Kumatora has other motives besides Duster's well-being."

"Guess I was too obvious, huh?" she asked, not bothering to deny it.

Ninten looked away and didn't say anything; he had assumed maybe Kumatora had a crush on Duster or something and didn't really question it, but if that wasn't the case then what was it? He didn't want to pry and get her angry at him though.

"Let me guess," Lucas said, clearly not harboring Ninten's reservations. "It has something to do with your little operation at Oshoe Castle two years ago."

Kumatora nodded.

"How about I tell you on the way?" she asked. "Assuming that you're coming with us, that is."

"Well, I don't think we really have anywhere else to go," Lucas whispered. "Wess is back in Tazmily, Ninten. Are you okay with heading back there?"

Ninten looked at them and frowned, he really rather not face the wrath of Flint a second time, he may be even worse than the first time since Lucas decided to run away from home because of him. "Uh… w-well… I guess I have no choice. I rather not stay here all not alone."

"All right," Kumatora said, either missing Ninten's reluctance or simply not caring about it. "Let's go! We have no time to lose. We want to get Duster back with the band as soon as we can so that they can entertain some of the factory workers who may have to find a new job. We wouldn't want an uprising on our hands, would we?" she paused, staring up at the ceiling in thought. "Actually, we might want that, but I would prefer not to rush it. Let's go!"

"Um… wait, did you just call me 'Duster'?" Duster asked, looking at her.

"That's apparently your real name," Ninten said. _Seriously, Lucky and Duster? They sound like dog names to me!_

By now, Kumatora had already left the room.

"Er… we should probably catch up," Lucas said. "We don't want to let her wander _too_ far ahead, right?"

Then they heard her yelling. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" And loud smacking.

The two boys sweatdropped before they dared to look out the door to see the two bodyguards from earlier were lying unconscious on the floor.

Duster frowned and said, "... Are you sure she's not just crazy?"

"I'm wondering the same thing." Ninten gulped.

Lucas laughed.

"I know her a bit," he said. "She's not _completely_ crazy. Come on, we should try to catch up."

 _Yeah… I don't want her smacking ME around just because I was a little late. Still, it was pretty nice of her to stick with Duster to get him to remember who he is. … Would anyone I know ever find me and do the same?_ Ninten thought to himself as he hurried after the group.


	12. Chapter 12: Why Live?

**DarkFoxKit: Oh wow, Thanksgiving is tomorrow isn't it? What will you be doing tomorrow, Connor?**

 **Connor: ...How about I tell you over skype? I don't think that our readers want us to chat when we're supposed to be introducing the chapter. ;)**

 **DarkFoxKit: I guess, though it would be nice to talk a little more than just about the chapter. Oh well, shall we wish them a happy Thanksgiving and get on with the reviews?**

 **Connor: Sure! :) Happy Thanksgiving, everyone (for those of you who celebrate that)!**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yup! Have a blessed day with you and your family and friends!**

 **Shimo no ko:** **Of course not, even though Ninten and Ness look alike we want to make sure their personalities are not the same. Ness being more of the extrovert, jokester kind of boy who wants to be more optimistic even when the situation is bleak. Ninten being more introverted, unsure and trying to stay out of trouble if possible, it also doesn't help he has no memory of himself. Not to worry about the Bud identity thing, we don't plan to keep it a secret for too long.**

 **Connor: Ah, glad that you like Kuma! :) And like Fox said, Bud's identity is pretty obvious so it won't be** ** _too_** **long before people start to figure out.**

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** **Connor: Yeah, when Fox wrote that… I was like "O.O It totally does look like whipped cream!" ...Although, I don't think that I said that, so this is news for Fox. Ah, that's good to know. Yeah, humor is good, but there needs to be tension in the scene and humor can sometimes conflict with that. But hey, we'll try more stuff out and see what works! :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: It's hard getting humor just right, but we try.**

 **CherryPuffball:** **I guess Lucas's hair is looking like all kinds of 'food' to people. ^^'**

 **Guest:** **I know what that's like, seeing your favorite fanfic having a new update just before you gotta go to bed, and now you're too tempted to go to sleep without reading it. The teasing with Lucas just kinda came naturally when we were working with these characters, and it's nice to see Ninten loosing up enough to tease Lucas about something. The boyfriend girlfriend thing would've been funny, but for Ninten's sake we decided to go for the sibling thing instead. And Kumatora being a little crazy… that might not be too far off the mark. ^^' Fun fact; I actually learned about asthma from a show called Arthur. I'm glad to know we gave a good description about it. And look at that Connor, one of your fans is eagerly waiting for more Ceres update. *playfully elbows Connor***

 **Connor: Well, I just updated Ceres about an hour before this will go out, so… yeah. :) Ah, it's great to see that you're so into this story (even though it's mostly us just having fun haha). And sorry that these updates come so late; I live on west coast time. And I** ** _wanted_** **to go with the boyfriend girlfriend thing, but Fox was merciful and spared Ninten. :P Ah, geometry. I didn't like that class… well, I liked the class because the teacher was good, but I didn't like the material. Geometric proofs are the dumbest thing in all of mathematics, except for maybe reducing trig expressions.**

 **PK Gossamer: ****Connor: Thanks! :) And don't feel like you have to catch every chapter. Yeah, we already have too many characters for an adventure story, so we can't really fit Boney in. And Fox wants to add even more characters, so we'll have to work that out… Ah, you read New Frontier! Thanks! :) That's the first story where my actual writing isn't complete trash, so it's nice to get people reading it! And a lot of Lucas' view is based around the fact that he really doesn't have much to lose, so he's more willing to take risks. And Ninten is one of Fox's characters, so I'll let her respond to that (if at all). And I don't know if I'd call any chimera attack "serendipitous." :P Unless it's free Exp, I suppose.**

 **DarkFoxKit: Ninten in this story is more like me, and I figured he would try to figure out what to do since his basic knowledge of the world doesn't seem to apply much in Tazmily Village. I'm glad to know he's very relatable, not many people says much about Ninten so I was worried I wasn't doing a good job with him. ^^'**

 **Yeeeeah, Ninten's asthma will definitely be a problem in places like those, especially the dirty air of New Pork City, should be interesting to see how that would work out. Although I remember in Earthbound Beginnings you go to a place filled with trash and dust, yet Ninten seemed completely fine. Maybe his asthma only triggers when there's car fumes around him? Eh, it was an early RPG, there's bound to be a lot of… holes in logic, not that there aren't holes in today's RPGs either… but you get my point. To be fair about the bodyguards, they did seem to call Boney out on being 'a dog-like person' if it weren't for Kumatora.**

 **You know, that's a good question about learning psionic powers through danger. Well they always say great powers are only revealed in you when you need them. ^^'**

 **Thank you for your review, we appreciate the details you put into them.**

 **A Fan: ****Connor: I think that I'm going to answer this one because I'm mostly responsible for how much this story differs from canon. It's set 2 years after Hinawa dies, and it splits when Ness and Ninten arrive at the scene.**

 **...Kinda.**

 **The thing is, there are some things in this story that don't ever show up in M3 even though this story is set before most of the game. Even if Ness and Ninten were to never arrive, Lucas' attitude and some of the pigmask technology is different enough from M3 that it still wouldn't be the same. So it's kind of a split when they arrive, but kind of not. I'll take the blame for that. :P**

 **DarkFoxKit: Connor wanted to give Lucas a different personality from the norm, that made it pretty interesting to interact with him to say the least.**

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan: ****I hope you're doing okay, no need to force yourself if you're not up for it.**

 **Seems everyone is worried for poor Bud, but he'll be fine… maybe. And yes, I would assume those are the security people. XD**

 **Kumatora and Ninten teasing Lucas just kinda happened. ^^' And it is pretty funny how Ninten comments on people having dog-like names, because I did notice their names could easily be mistaken as dogs. ^^' Ninten is just an overthinker and worried, so of course he'll think Lucas may not have time for his own problems, especially with what's been going on, which is why Lucas has to be there to remind him he's there for him too. The rendev-ous? Huh… I wasn't sure myself. ^^'**

 **As for Ninten being short, especially compared to Kumatora, yeah I keep thinking he's much younger than her because of how tall she is and how short he is compared to her. And as for who would get upset with Ninten, definitely Ana. Surprised you're the only one who said something about it.**

 **Connor: I dunno how it is in English, but I based "Rendez-vous" off of French grammar. Although in that situation, "Rende-toi" would be more appropriate (I think… my French is super rusty and it was never good to begin with xD). And bouncers are like guards, except they're at bars.**

 **Not to ruin the relief that we set up for you, but… Lucas knows lifeup alpha too. ;) Ninten just got there first. Oh yeah, I would get pretty annoyed too if one of my friends bragged a lot, especially when they're not as good as they think they are.**

 **Well, even though stuff got deleted in your review, you still managed to say a lot. :) And hey, the James Bond thing is kind of a dated reference (Fox didn't know who he was either and I've never watched a James Bond movie before), so don't feel bad! And even if it wasn't, you still shouldn't feel bad. I'm the king of not knowing pop culture references.**

 **Yeah, the thing about writing is that the supply of writers almost always outweighs the demand for writing, so you have to be really good to make a living off of your writing. But on the plus side, it basically only requires practice and dedication to get better. Look at how far my writing has come in eight months haha (even though it's still not great). But yeah, once you get to a higher level, there's a whole slew of stuff that you have to worry about that doesn't necessarily deal with the quality of your prose. Right now, I'm trying to work on making my descriptions more concrete (instead of saying "pain coursed through his arm," I can say "He moved his arm and felt a flash of pain." The second one is more relatable. I'm also focusing on making sure that characters have goals at all times so it doesn't feel like they're just doing whatever. And again, a lot of that has to come out in the editing. :)**

* * *

"Really Ness, we should head back to the base. It's already past midnight, I'm sure we found all the workers as they are accounted for and Master Porky's not going to be happy when he finds out two of his commanding officers were out for so long like this," Bud said to the red hat wearing boy who was pacing around.

Ness barely heard him. He couldn't stop looking at the train in front of him. It had been reduced to a pile of scrap metal. If the cattlesnakes could do that to a train, what could they do to organic life forms? Ness didn't have to look far to see red stains, although he couldn't tell if the blood belonged to chimeras or humans.

 _This is what a victory looks like,_ Ness thought. _Nothing but destruction._

Ness walked up to a corpse on the ground. He could barely tell that it was human. Already, a rancid stench began to set in.

"Why couldn't we save them, Bud?" Ness asked. "We should have been able to do _something._ "

"We didn't know this would happen, Ness. There was nothing we could've done to have prevented this without future knowledge," Bud answered.

Ness closed his eyes. This place lay at the edge of a forest. There should have been more sounds: Birds chirping, squirrels scampering, people talking. But the only sound Ness heard was the moaning of the wind. Even though the air around him was warm, Ness couldn't help but shiver.

"Why did this have to happen?" Ness asked. "Such a waste of life; such a waste of beauty. Just… _why?_ "

"These things happen. There is life and there is death. Now we really should leave, there is nothing else out here worth looking for," Bud said, starting to sound a bit impatient.

"To be human is to seek beauty," Ness whispered. "But I cannot find any in this desolation. I… suppose that we should go now. Are you going to fly us back?"

"Yes. It is the quickest way back to Master Porky. He may punish us for being so late," Bud answered as he activated his jetwings. "Maybe you can explain to him that we were busy seeking beauty."

Ouch. Bud seemed to already know how to burn someone. He picked up Ness and flew off into the sky to get back to base.

"Goodbye," Ness whispered, watching the world below him grow ever smaller. "And good luck."

It was a quiet ride back to the base, and they had to head for Porky's throne room immediately.

"You two are late," Porky said, though Ness couldn't tell if he was angry or not since the tone of his voice always sounds so scratchy.

"Rehabilitation usually takes longer than a few hours," Ness replied. "Maybe if the workers didn't practically _live_ at the factory then it wouldn't have been a big deal to relocate them."

Bud stayed silent and just down on his knee as if he was bowing.

"I don't care for your excuses, Ness. What happened over there?" Porky demanded.

"Destruction," Ness answered. "Desolation. Most of the workers survived, but the land itself has been scarred."

"And how did this happen?" Porky demanded again.

"Cattlesnakes went on a rampage, sir," Bud answered.

"Cattlesnakes? They are not usually hostile, something or someone provoked them." Porky frowned. "Did you two find out what caused this rampage?"

"No," Ness said. "They're probably dead, whoever they are. Those cattlesnakes don't usually decide to switch targets before taking out their original victim."

"Hmph, how unfortunate then. Oh well, looks like the factory will have to shut down," Porky said in a nonchalant way. "But perhaps that's a good thing. I already found a better way to get what I want without the need for Claymen and having to take care of those crybaby workers."

"If you had to work overtime to support your family, I bet that you would be annoyed as well," Ness said. "But I'm not surprised to see you act this way. You always treat others like pawns. Even Giygas was nothing but a tool in your eyes."

"Oh Ness, always the righteous one. I don't need your preaching to tell me what I should or shouldn't do," Porky said. "Now, there is something at Tazmily I want you two to find out for me."

 _Is he denying that he sees others as pawns?_ Ness thought. _Because that wasn't an insult. It was a simple fact._

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Ness asked.

"There is some guy over there causing trouble for my Pigmasks. Would you two be so _kind_ as to find out why and see if you can get him to stop? Otherwise I may have to…" Porky looked down at Bud's direction before he gave a big smirk. "Order my little monster here to take care of him."

 _Well, I'm surprised that he's even giving me the chance to talk things out with this troublemaker,_ Ness thought.

"You know how I hate to play the oppressor," Ness said. "So I suppose that you'll enjoy watching me squirm. But I won't resist, not yet. Would you please give me some background information this time, though? I need to know a little about this man before I talk to him if I don't want to seem like an outsider."

"Sorry Ness, I don't know much about him either," Porky said, though he didn't sound all that sorry. "Why don't you ask one of the Pigmasks, Fassad or one of those rural villagers in Tazmily about him? They should know all about the guy."

"I'm flabbergasted that you _actually_ have a good suggestion for once," Ness said evenly. "Very well. When do we leave?"

"Ideally, it would be best if you get some sleep and go in the morning. However, you may go there now if you want. I don't really care, just go there soon," Porky said. "I've had enough complaints as it is from that troublemaker."

Ness turned to look at Bud.

"I think that I would function better if I get some sleep," he said. "Are you okay if we leave next morning? ...Oh wait, it's already morning. Well, you probably understand what I mean."

"You don't need to sleep to get a good rest," Bud said, confusing Ness. "You just need a few seconds is all and you'll be as refreshed as you were if you had a full night human sleep, but without the grogginess."

"I don't really buy that," Ness said. "So far as I know, human cells can't revert back to their normal state without hours of rest. If there is a machine like you imply, my guess is that it possesses side effects that I don't want to mess with. At best, you're tricking the body to think that it's rested when it really isn't. That's not healthy."

"It always worked for me," Bud shrugged. "It's why I don't sleep much. And your interaction with Master Porky is rather… interesting. If I spoke back to him like you did, I would've been severely punished. He must really like you."

"No," Ness said. "He knows me too well. He could break me if he wanted to, but he knows that I'll suffer more if I'm whole. You know how I reacted back at the scene of the chimera rampage? It… really hurt me to see that."

 _But I would still rather suffer that pain than break myself,_ Ness thought, but he didn't want to say that in front of Porky.

"It hurt you?" Bud asked, looking at him. "But it was just a train. And if people died, then why cry for them? You didn't even know them. You are always such an enigma that I can't fully comprehend. Well if you choose to get sleep, then I will see you when the sun is high in the sky."

 _Both Porky and Bud cannot feel empathy,_ Ness thought. _That's what makes them broken. They cannot feel the emotions of others, instead focusing only on themselves. The human race forms a web with our emotional connections, but neither Bud nor Porky are part of that system._

Ness shook his head, turning back to Porky.

"Is there anything else that you want me to know?" he asked.

"Try not to be late next time," Porky said. "Oh… and perhaps if you do a good job on this mission I can let you in on a big project I've been making my Pigmasks work on for a long time."

 _So… I should do a bad job?_ Ness thought.

"What about my PSI?" Ness asked. "Do I get access to any more?"

"I'll let my little monster be the judge of that," Porky said. "He knows more about PSI than I do anyways."

"And one other thing," Ness said. "My bat is great and all, but I require a concealed weapon for diplomacy missions. May I pick up a knife or something similar at the weapons station?"

"If you think that will help you, then yes, go pick up a knife or two. Any other questions?"

"Nope," Ness said. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

Ness turned around and walked out of Porky's room, not sure how to sort out the jumbled emotions in his heart. He felt sorrow, sorrow for those who were lost. He felt angry, angry that he would have to act the oppressor.

But above all else, he felt tired. He wondered how much more he could take. Surely he could keep going for another week, another month, maybe another year. But could he keep going for two years? Five? Ten? The rest of his life? Ness didn't think that he could.

 _But that's what the knife is for,_ he thought.

If life became unbearable, he could always kill himself. A flick of a knife, a flash of pain, and then it would be over.

It disturbed Ness how much he wanted that to happen.

* * *

"I don't think that I'm ever going to get used to this flying thing," Ness grumbled as he and Bud soared through the sky. "How long was I sleeping before you woke me up?"

"Approximately eight hours," Bud answered. "That's usually how long a human needs to get a decent sleep."

"I'm a teenager," Ness said. "I sleep like a baby."

"I know. You snore like a hog," Bud muttered, but Ness heard it. "But Master Porky wouldn't be too happy if we waited too long to discipline this troublemaker."

"I'll take your word for it," Ness said, looking down as a small town, presumably Tazmily, came into view.

Tazmily looked rural yet urban and seemed archaic yet sophisticated. Ness couldn't quite put a finger on what made the town seem this way.

"So, we should probably start the day with some recon," Ness said. "Which, unfortunately, is going to be tough in this uniform. I look like an outsider."

"We could just talk to Fassad, he's been in this town talking to the people here into getting happy boxes for two years. He might know this place like the back of his hand," Bud said as they were landing.

"But Fassad is an egotistical jerk," Ness said. "Which means that I don't want to talk to him and that his opinions will probably be skewed."

"Isn't it better to just get vital information from him rather than his opinions? That's what I always had to do," Bud said, looking at Ness.

"I need information about his personality," Ness said. "You can't describe that without letting some opinion seep in. But you have a good point. Fassad will probably have access to all of the facts that I need, while the townspeople will provide more reliable opinions."

"Then we should talk to Fassad for information and the townspeople for opinions. I have only the name of the troublemaker in my data, so it could be used for our lead," Bud said. "He is a middle aged man named Flint, and he's the only one in this entire village without a happy box."

"So, he's probably a conservative evangelical, huh?" Ness asked. "Those types are usually opposed to change. Looks like this time, he's actually justified in his opinions."

"So what's your first order of business then, Ness?" Bud asked him.

"Let's go talk to Fassad," Ness replied. "Do you know where he would likely be?"

"He's usually in the center of town talking to the people of Tazmily," Bud answered. "He should be easy to find once you enter the village."

Ness nodded, starting to walk into the village. He observed the general attitudes of the townspeople. They looked content yet stressed. Nothing out of the ordinary there. It didn't take long for Ness to find Fassad; like Bud said, he stood in the middle of town, talking to some of the townspeople.

"Fassad," Ness said, walking up to him. "We need to talk."

Fassad stopped and looked down at Ness and Bud before he said, "Ah, what are the two Commanders of the Pigmasks doing in a place like this?" His attitude sounded fake, but at least he wasn't being all snobby like when Ness first met him.

"Porky sent us to deal with a troublemaker," Ness answered. "His name is Flint. What can you tell me about him? Why does he oppose us?"

"Oh right… _him_." Fassad sneered. "He's just some cowboy with a lot of issues. He's been going around, yelling and sometimes attacking the Pigmasks and even trying to destroy the happy box shipments. He hates change, and from what I've heard his last son ran away from him with some stranger."

 _Sounds like something that could drive a father over the edge,_ Ness thought. _And he doesn't really seem like an adaptable person to begin with._

"Do you know why?" Ness asked.

"Why his last son ran away? Because he was trying to kick out the stranger or something. I didn't get all the details," Fassad said with a shrug.

"What were the names of the son and the stranger?" Ness asked.

"The son's name is Lucas, he's just as hard headed as his father. And the stranger claims to be Nin- something," Fassad said. "He looks just like you actually, Ness."

Ness needed to muster all of his willpower to keep his face neutral.

"Thanks," he said. "That information really helps."

"Anything else, Commander?" Fassad asked.

"Nope," Ness said with a fake smile. "Have a nice day."

Bud silently followed Ness before he said, "Do you know where Flint lives?"

"No," Ness said. "I forgot to ask. But I wanted to talk to one of the townspeople anyways. Do we get paid? I mean, we're pretty important commanders, right?"

"Get paid?" Bud looked clueless about that. "I never got paid."

"That's a pity. People are generally more willing to talk to strangers when they buy stuff." Ness walked up to what looked like a bakery. "But I guess this shop is closed for now."

"I've noticed," Bud said. "I just never had a reason to be paid. If you're looking for villagers to talk to, there's plenty of them in town square."

"This is a small town," Ness said. "The townspeople are likely close-knit. I'll be seen as an outsider. That's why I wanted money to buy stuff. It makes me seem more friendly and supportive."

"Hey, Ninten," Ness heard from behind. "Where were you? And what's with the outfit?"

Ness turned around to see a boy about his age. He possessed spiky brown hair and an easygoing smile that made him stand out from the other children that Ness had seen.

"I'm sorry," Ness said. "But you have the wrong person. My name is Ness."

The boy furrowed his eyebrows.

"Hey, Angie!" he shouted. "Come over here! Doesn't this kid look exactly like Ninten?"

A girl about Ness's and the boy's age came over, she too have brown hair and wore a yellow dress. "... Isn't that Ninten?" The boy shook his head before she looked at Ness again. "... Oh, so you must be Ninten's twin brother, right?"

"Ninten has a twin brother?" Ness asked. "...And no."

"What? Are you sure? Then why do you look exactly like him?" Angie asked, still staring at Ness with curiosity.

"I don't know any better than you do," Ness replied.

"Well, I suppose that we should stop prodding you about this, even if you are Ninten," the boy said with a sly wink. "The name's Fuel, and this is Angie. Who's the kid next to you?"

Bud looked over at them and answered, "I am the commander of the Pigmask army. That is all I am."

"... What? Commander? … You're kidding, right?" Angie said in disbelief a KID of all people could be a commander of anything.

"Why would you think I was lying?" Bud asked.

"How old are you?" Angie asked him.

"I don't believe I have a real age," Bud answered.

"He gets like this sometimes," Ness interrupted. "But yeah, we're both commanders. Don't know how it happened."

"... These Pigmasks are very weird people," Angie grumbled. "So what brings two big, bad commanders like you two to our humble little village?"

"We are trying to placate a man named Flint," Ness answered. "I assume that you two know him, considering the population of this town?"

Fuel nodded.

"I know him well," he said. "He saved my life."

"Really?" Ness asked.

"Nope, I was just lying for the fun of it," Fuel replied sarcastically. "Yes, really. I might add that it was _you_ pigmasks who burned down our forest. I nearly died in there."

Ness felt uncomfortable yet reassured upon hearing the loathing in Fuel's voice. It was good that people hated the pigmasks… just not good for him right now.

"Did the pigmasks really burn down a forest?" Ness asked Bud.

"I didn't exist yet when they did that. It was before they created me, but yes, they did, on orders by Master Porky," Bud answered him.

"Why would you Pigmasks do that anyways? We lost someone in that fire. Well it wasn't in the fire exactly, but it was still because of what the Pigmasks did," Angie said with a frown.

"Don't ask me," Ness muttered. "I'm not working for them by _choice._ "

"... Do I even want to know what your story is?" Angie said.

"Ness, we should just get down to business," Bud said. "Just ask them where Flint lives."

"We could hear you, you know. You could just ask us yourself," Angie said to Bud.

"I believe you would respond better to Ness than to me," Bud answered her.

"I hope that you believe me when I say that I just want to help," Ness said to Fuel and Angie. "It sounds like Flint is a little unhinged at the moment. Well, either that or I've been given false information. I need to help him if I can, and I need someone to tell me if he's really fine so I know if I should back off."

"And you want _us_ to tell you?" Fuel asked.

"Nah," Ness said sarcastically. "I was just talking to myself… of course that was the implication, Fuel."

Fuel smiled.

"At least you have a sense of humor. What do you think, Angie?"

"Well I haven't really spoken to Flint since Claus went missing, so I've always been uneasy with the guy. I've also been worried about how Lucas has been faring since Flint keeps leaving him, and his brother is gone." Angie frowned. "I guess when Lucas decided to leave, Flint pretty much lost it."

"So if _Angie_ is willing to tell you stuff, then I really have no rationale not to," Fuel said. "You're right, Ness. The guy is completely unhinged. Losing his wife and kids sent him over the edge."

"So Claus is his son?" Ness asked.

"..." Bud looked a little curious at that. "The name sounds familiar to me… but I'm sure I've never heard it before. There was nothing in the data about this Claus…"

Ness blinked, remembering when he had first met Bud. The Commander hadn't been wearing his helmet… and his face looked almost exactly like Lucas'. Now he learned that Lucas had a brother and that Bud recognized the name. Could it be…?

"Claus _was_ his son," Fuel corrected. "He's almost certainly dead.

 _Or maybe he's standing right in front of you,_ Ness thought. But he didn't have enough evidence to voice his suspicion yet.

"So if you're planning to talk to Flint I would suggest avoiding sensitive subjects like his family," Angie said. "Oh and if you're wondering… Flint's house is south from here, he lives a little on the outskirts of town."

"Although he's hardly ever there," Fuel added. "He's usually out in the woods or visiting Hinawa's grave. I wouldn't try to catch him at the grave, though."

"You think he's in the woods today?" Angie asked Fuel.

Fuel shrugged.

"Either that or harassing the pigmasks. His life doesn't have a whole lot of meaning anymore. It's a bit sad just to watch him wither away, but what else can we do?" He sighed, shaking his head. "I hope that you two can help him out. And when in doubt, scream for help at the top of your lungs."

Ness looked for a glint of humor in Fuel's eye and found none.

"All right," Ness said. "Thanks for the help."

"Are you two going to look for him in his house first?" Angie asked. "I'd suggest you try looking for him at the training grounds. I last saw him heading in that direction, though that was a few hours ago…"

"Sounds like he's already harassing more Pigmasks," Bud said.

"Well, I take back my statement about his life not having meaning," Fuel said. "Making life miserable for you snout-nosed invaders is probably the most productive thing that anyone's done in two years. But I digress. Good luck, and try to keep all of your body parts intact."

 _Geez,_ Ness thought. _What I would give to visit a peaceful town like Onett…_

"Ready to go?" Ness asked.

"This man sounds dangerous," Bud said as the two of them began walking again. "Perhaps we should've brought some back-up to hold him down."

"We have PSI," Ness said dismissively. "Unless he does too, we should be fine. Speaking of which, Porky said that you get to determine which PSI abilities that I have access to."

"Hmm… I'm surprised Master Porky is giving me such a big responsibility," Bud said as he tapped onto Ness's collar with his mechanical hand. "One of Dr. Andonuts' creations. I can see what kind of PSI you have and which ones are blocked." Ness felt a tingle go through his head. "I've enabled you to use Paralysis and Hypnosis, it will be useful for this mission if Flint goes out of control."

"What about better Lifeup and Healing PSI?" Ness asked. "I don't see the risk in letting me use that."

"I'm only going to let you use what is necessary right now," Bud said. "I can't be too lenient on you."

"Well, why not?" Ness asked. "We're friends, right?"

"Well… as your friend I can't be too lenient on you." Bud answered. "No, really. If Master Porky finds out I was being too lenient on you, he will assign you a different rank and therefore a different guide."

 _I don't know if he would…_ Ness thought. _He did say that it would be entertaining to watch me try to sabotage his mission._

"All right," Ness said. "Your reasoning makes sense."

The two soon made it to the training facility, where they saw Pigmasks in training. They were running laps around the field. Ness looked around but didn't see any hint of a man harassing them anywhere.

"All right," Ness said, walking up to the pigmasks. "Who's in charge here?"

A green Pigmask turned and quickly saluted when he saw them. "C-Commanders sir! We were wondering when you'd be here. I'm in charge of this training facility, what would you like to know, sir?"

"The man named Flint," Ness said. "Is he here?"

"He was, sirs. He almost sabotaged our entire training facility, demanding to know where Lucas and Claus are and screaming that we took both of them away from him! I don't know where Lucas is and I don't even know a Claus!" The Pigmask Major said quickly. "He went off somewhere after he grew tired of not having answers."

"You don't know where?" Ness asked.

"I do sirs." A blue Pigmask spoke up from beside the Major. "I heard he went back home, something about preparing dinner."

"All right," Ness said. "Let's head over there, Bud."

The two of them went towards the outskirts of town, finding a lone house on a small hill with a sheep's pen and a doghouse. Bud was looking at the place. "... This place… there's something… oddly nostalgic about this place… Was I brought here before?"

"I find it more likely that you've been here before you became a pigmask," Ness said.

"That's impossible, I never existed before then," Bud said. Then he looked over at the dog house and bend down over to it, as if expecting something. Ness watched when he saw Bud reaching his hand in the doghouse before shaking his head. "... I don't know… I just thought a dog was in there…"

"Are you sure that you didn't exist before then?" Ness asked. "Because I'm sure that you could remember if you were brought here after you became a pigmask, right?"

"My early days are very cloudy," Bud answered him. "So I don't remember much for the first three months. I just think maybe they brought me here during those three months." Then he looked at the door. "Are you going to knock?"

"No," Ness said. "From the information about this guy, I don't think that he would appreciate me coming up to his house. Perhaps we can catch him outside…?"

Suddenly they heard barking from inside the house, and something scratching the door.

"Huh… must be the dog," Bud said.

The door opened to reveal a brown furred dog barking at them and a middle aged man with a cowboy-like getup looking down at them.

"Hello," Ness said, walking up to the man. "Flint, I presume?"

"... You… what do you want? You already took away my son, what more do you want? My dog too?" The man snapped at Ness.

 _So he knows that we're pigmasks? Huh._

"Porky wants to send you a threat. He doesn't like the way that you're harassing his pigmasks."

The man presuming to be Flint looked rather shocked for a second, before he covered his eyes with his hat and said, "... So you _were_ with the Pigmasks… I WARNED Lucas not to trust you. Where did you take him!?"

"I didn't take him anywhere…" Ness said.

"Don't lie to me! I've seen you walking with my son! Lucas trusted you, so much so he decided to leave home, and now I've lost BOTH of my sons!" Flint reached out and grabbed Ness's shirt. "WHERE ARE THEY!?"

"Oh," Ness said, trying not to show fear. "You think that I'm Ninten. And I don't suppose that I'll be able to convince you otherwise, huh?"

"Unless you two are twins or clones, I don't see any reason to think otherwise." Flint said coldly. "You Pigmasks took everything away from me, and now you have the audacity to tell me to stop?"

"Yes," Ness said simply. "Porky's a heartless dictator, but he's a heartless dictator who can send an assassin after you if he wants to. If he wants you dead, then you'll end up dead. And he's starting to debate if he really wants to keep you alive or not…"

"If that heartless son of a gun wants me dead, then so be it. I have nothing else to live for at this rate, so I'm going out with my dignity," Flint said coldly, yet Ness could also detect hopelessness too. "I've already lost everything, so I have nothing more to lose at this point." He threw Ness to the ground. "Now get out of here before I grab my 2x4."

"How are you any different than he is?" Ness asked. "Using fear to try and dispatch your foes. But I suppose that doesn't really matter. What matters is that you _do_ have something to live for, even if you don't know it. A friend taught me that a while back when I was about to give up."

"And just what do I have left to live for then, hmm? You already took away the last thing I had to a family. You've already corrupted this village with your money, technology and greed. I might as well just keep playing with fire until it burns me," Flint hissed at him.

Bud had been silent the entire time, just watching the scene between Ness and Flint. Ness wasn't sure if Bud wanted him to handle this on his own or if Bud really didn't know what to say or do in this situation.

"I understand your argument," Ness told Flint. "I just disagree. Sometimes the little things are what give life meaning. Besides, one of your sons is still alive, right? And even if he wasn't…" Ness gestured towards the dog. "You still have a dog to keep you company."

The dog gave a small whine as it was looking at the two curiously. Flint just shook his head, "Just get off my property."

Ness looked at the dog.

"Hey," he said. "You can communicate with PSI-users like Lucas, right?"

The dog only gave a nod at that.

"...Do you want to say something? You don't look comfortable, watching us fight."

 _"_ _... I'm just… wondering why you two are here… You smell… friendly yet upset and depressed. And the other one with you… I… can't distinguish his smell."_ The dog answered.

"I said why I'm here," Ness told the dog. "I want to convince your owner not to harass the pigmasks anymore… and I guess that I am depressed." He looked up at Flint. "Can you understand him?"

"I don't talk to animals," Flint answered, almost as if on automatic. "You kids need to stop pretending he can talk, people will think you're crazy." Then he frowned at Ness. "... You almost reminded me of Claus. He always asked me if I could understand Boney." The man still sounded cold, but at least he's not screaming at them to get off his property.

 _So Claus can talk to animals, which means that he can probably use PSI,_ Ness thought, looking at Bud. _He seems to fit the description so far. Should I have him take off his mask? No, even if Bud is Claus, Flint would freak out. I don't want to cause him more anguish._

Boney was looking at Bud in curiosity, he's been trying to figure him out since he came out of the house. Bud was looking back at Boney, not really sure what to do, he looked tempted to pet the dog actually but was restraining himself from doing so.

"Do you two recognize each other?" Ness asked.

 _"_ _I don't know… I can't smell his scent, but there is something about him that's… familiar,"_ Boney answered.

"..." Bud didn't speak.

Flint tipped his hat and sighed, he looked like he was thinking about something deeply. "... If you're not that other boy… Ninten, was it? Then who are you? And who's that other boy with you?"

"My name is Ness. This is Bud. Well, that's not his real name, but that's what I call him. He's a human chimera who's supposed to keep tabs on me. But I think that he's a softie underneath," Ness finished with an impish smile.

"A human chimera?" Flint looked surprised and a bit disgusted with the idea. "Honestly, as if messing with animals weren't bad enough, they made a HUMAN chimera?" He shook his head. "You two are commanders of these Pigmasks? Why? You seem pretty young."

"Well, we both can use PSI," Ness said. "And Porky has a knife to my throat, same as you. That's why I'm working for him."

"... I see… And what about him?" Flint asked, pointing at Bud. He looked like he was going to say more, but decided to hold back on it.

"He's a chimera," Ness said. "He was brainwashed to serve Porky, although he insists that he was synthesized."

"Brainwashed?" Flint was looking at him before he said, "You said 'Bud' wasn't his real name. What's his real name then?"

"Ness," Bud suddenly spoke up for the first time since Flint opened the door. "A moment, please?"

"Sorry," Ness said to Flint. He turned to Bud. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Wasn't this man angry and cold at us just a few minutes ago? Now he's just talking to you? How could anyone change emotions that quickly?" Bud asked him. "Did you use Hypnosis on him? This is illogical human behavior. All the humans I've spoken with before always hold one emotion for a while before changing."

"If I used Hypnosis on him, he would be asleep," Ness said. "To be honest, I think that he's just tired. Tired of having to fight everyone he meets, tired of feeling angry."

"He has such hopelessness that he's willing to be angry at everyone?" Bud frowned. "And… that dog said you were depressed. Ness, do you think about killing yourself one of these days? Depressed humans usually think about that."

"I… have, in the past," Ness said.

"... The humans I've observed back at the base were trained to mask most of their true emotions," Bud said. "Are humans normally this… this… _ruled_ by their emotions?"

"No," Ness said, "But this is not a normal world. Still, I wouldn't give up my emotions for anything in the world. At least my life has meaning if I can truly experience it."

"Is there a problem over there?" Flint asked.

" _You_ can't live on without emotions." Bud frowned. "That doesn't mean that _I_ can't. These emotions are dangerous, look at what it drives a person to do."

"Better than the alternative," Ness said. "Our emotions keep us in check. They make sure that we don't go over the edge. If we can't feel, then nothing stops us from torturing or killing on a whim. We must _feel_ to experience empathy."

"I don't care for all that. I am simply a robot chimera meant to follow orders, no matter what. These emotions will only get in the way of that and I'll be nothing but scrap. Master Porky doesn't need another human for his more… devastating orders. I have to fill that role." It was quite ironic that Bud was talking about how much he dislikes emotions yet he showed clear signs of fear.

"And you wonder why I call you broken," Ness said, shaking his head. "If you want to argue about what you were meant to do, I suppose that I should explain the evolutionary basis of emotions and how they move us towards what we should be doing."

Bud looked at Ness before he narrowed his eyes and frowned, "You… you _want_ me to feel emotion like an actual human being? But I can't! That is a big glitch for me!"

"You're a human," Ness said. "Therefore, you should feel emotions. Class dismissed."

Bud frowned more but didn't push the matter. Ness turned back to Flint, who was tending to the sheep while the two were talking. The man did seem to have calmed down quite a bit.

"Sorry about that," Ness said, walking up to Flint. "It can be a bit hard, talking to someone who can't feel. But it does make me feel grateful for my emotions. Because no matter what happens to me, I have the right to feel the way that I do. No matter how much I want to die, at least I can feel grateful that I want _something._ "

"You sound like Claus," Flint said as a small tear fell on his cheek. "Whenever he felt upset about something, he would tell me that. He would rather feel sad and upset than nothing at all. I guess he's influenced Lucas in someway."

Ness nodded sadly. He had been hearing that a lot. If Claus really was Bud, it made Ness feel disturbed that he could just as easily succumb to a sociopathic state.

"What are you going to do?" Ness asked. "Everything that you love has been stolen, and the thief now holds a knife to your throat. Yet you still have many long decades ahead of you, whatever that's worth. What will you do?"

"... I was thinking about what Lucas said to me before he left with Ninten," Flint said. "I really hated change, because every change that happened to me lead to disaster. Still… I suppose I really don't have anyone to blame about Lucas leaving than myself. I just wish things could go back to how it used to be."

"I know what you mean," Ness whispered. "This world feels so heavy. But I think that Lucas would appreciate hearing that you're willing to take responsibility for how he felt. Little things like that really mean a lot to people."

"Well… I'm still a bit against outsiders, but…" Flint sighed. "I don't want to push away the only remaining family member I have left. And if Ninten is anything like you… I suppose I owe him an apology."

"It really makes me happy to hear that," Ness said. "It looks like I should probably go soon, since my mission was to talk to you. If you have to oppose the pigmasks, please be a little less conspicuous about it. I think that you still mean a lot to Lucas."

"I thank you, for talking with me Ness. Even though you're not Claus, it felt nice to talk to someone like him again. Hinawa always told me I needed to be more open minded," Flint sighed.

"You're welcome," Ness said. "And thank you for listening. If only talking to Bud was this easy… but I suppose life has its ups and downs. I should probably go over and talk to him now. I wish you the best of luck for whatever you decide to do, Flint."

Ness turned and walked away. Before long, he approached Bud, not sure whether to feel happy or somber about his conversation with Flint.

"You ready to head back?" he asked.

"... I just don't understand how he converted and listened to you so quickly," Bud said, looking lost. "Flint is a stubborn man, he's usually narrow minded and quick to anger if you did something wrong!"

"I think he realized that I understand how he feels," Ness said. "That touches people more than you might expect. Are you ready to lift off?"

"... You seem to have a knack for things like this," Bud said with an annoyed tone. "And I didn't think you'd be in such a hurry to get back to base."

"You sound bitter," Ness noted.

"I just think maybe you have some natural talent with human emotion," Bud said. "Can't I be a little curious about that?"

"I'm not saying that you're wrong in your tone of voice," Ness said. "I would rather see you annoyed than emotionless. But the best way to deal with human emotion is to use some of your own. Sincerity is the key to building people's trust."

"Annoyed? I'm not annoyed! I'm just…" Bud turned around and grumbled. "... I just don't really want to go back to base right now…"

"Oh," Ness said before he gave a small smile. "Then let's stick around."

"B-but we can't… we shouldn't. We do have to leave…" Bud frowned and looked torn between following orders and wanting to stay here.

"If you want to stay here, we should stay here," Ness said. "We don't have to leave. We don't _have_ to do anything."

"Why are you so sure? Master Porky will be-" Bud started to say before Ness interrupted him.

"Bud," Ness said. "Don't worry about Porky. You have the rest of your life to work for him. If you want to stay here for longer, then _do it._ What you want matters."

"I'm not really someone who should matter…" Bud frowned. "And besides, if we do stay here, what will we be doing? We have… no orders to follow…"

"So we can chill out," Ness said. "Relax a little. There's a forest to the north and a beach to the west. Either one sounds great to me right now."

"..." Bud looked at the house again, he seemed rather drawn to it. "... You seem to know what it's like not having to follow orders… how about I just follow what you want me to do?"

Ness sighed.

"Bud, that takes the whole point out of it! We're supposed to be doing what _you_ want to do."

Bud was surprised and a bit worried about that. "What… _I_ want to do? … I don't know… I've never had to do something without an order before…"

"How about a compromise?" Ness asked. "I'll do stuff that I would want to do, and then you tell me whether you like it or not."

"That sounds fair," Bud said, though Ness wasn't sure if Bud WOULD tell him if he liked it or not. "So… what do you want to do then?"

"I guess I'll go trekking through the forest," Ness said. "It will be a mixture of a hike and a child's exploration. I am only 14, after all. You on board with that?"

"I suppose a recon in the forest couldn't hurt," Bud said. "Perhaps Dr. Andonuts would like to know more about the wildlife over there."

Ness sighed.

"Focus on enjoying yourself, Bud. Now let's go!"


	13. Chapter 13: Betrayal?

**DarkFoxKit: Hey Connor, I heard you finally finished Ceres!**

 **Connor: Yeah. :) Sorry that it involved kind of ignoring this story for a month! xD But here we are with a new chapter, and Fox and I are starting to work again on actually writing this story (we had a pretty big stockpile of chapters before I took a break to finish up Ceres). I guess I should have warned you guys earlier…** **we are pretty much writing whatever comes to our minds.** **This means that the plot is going to be pretty jumbled. If we were trying to sell this to a publisher, we would have to rewrite the vast majority of this in our second draft. So yeah… coherence will not be this story's strong suit. :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Someone seems self conscious about this story. ^^' Well let's get to the reviews then.**

 **Connor: I guess that I am. xD As I'm sure that you figured out, I like to plan out my stories instead of just seeing what comes out. But regardless of my opinions, authors who write whatever comes to mind only produce professional drafts after a lot of rewriting, which we aren't doing. But yeah, onto the reviews! :)**

 **A Fan:** My vote is that Bud is sadder, but that's just me. :) And Ness isn't _that_ sad… okay, he's pretty sad. xD Ness is best teacher, and "how to have emotions" is a class required for graduating and becoming a human being. ;)

 **Shimo no ko:**

 **DarkFoxKit:** It's not going to be easy for Claus to just get over it, but let's hope he will if we want a happy ending. You find Flint being interesting? Glad to hear it since we've heard some earlier complaints he's being portrayed as the common abusive father. Ness apparently has the effect to help make people feel better. And happy late Thanksgiving to you too!

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** **Connor:** Welcome to my writing! :D All jokes aside, I do tend to talk about a lot of the depression/suicide stuff… I mean, it's not like Fox shies away from that, but I'm usually the one to initiate that discussion. I know, right? Even if life sucks, most of us have like 40-70 years left to live (since I'm assuming older people don't really read fanfiction haha). I think that I even had to sections in City of Progress about that… no, it was probably more. ._. Geez, my writing is intense… at least, when it isn't completely awful xD And yes, Bud _is_ the master of sick burns. Gotta give that one to Fox. :)

 **Guest:**

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yeah, I worry for Ness myself. ^^' And I didn't want Flint to remain the bitter father who refuses to accept change, so it's nice that he's trying to be more accepting. As for Lucas's character, you have Connor to thank for that, if it were me I probably would've made Lucas more like Fluttershy, you know kind and quiet rather than jaded and easy to anger. As for Bud, that one is my responsibility, and it's incredibly hard for me to do a completely lifeless character, so I had to give him SOME character and it seems to be working pretty well. But it seems you're definitely more of a Connor fan.

 **Connor:** Saying that anyone is "my fan" is a bit of a stretch. xD

 **Psigirl231: Connor:** Thanks! :) Although, it's not like we're professionals or anything. We both still have a long way to go (at least, if we want to pursue writing as a potential career). But yeah, thanks! :) Uh… you want to ship… the two of us? Like… romantically? Ah… I mean, you can if you want to, but there's nothing like that actually happening. We are seven years apart in age, after all.

 **DarkFoxKit:** Welcome to the popularity of the internet Connor. ^^' And anyways, TD is more of a test story for both of us since this is the first time we're writing together. The fact that you like it so much is really flattering though.

 **Connor:** Popularity, Fox? :) I mean, we have about 200 people reading this story, tops. That's literally less than one in a million. xD

 **DarkFoxKit:** *shrugs* We're apparently popular enough that people want to ship us. Anyways, let's get on with the story shall we?

* * *

"Here we are," Lucas said, looking at the buildings in Tazmily's central square. "Never thought that I would be the one to change while Tazmily remained the same."

"Are you kidding? Tazmily hadn't been the same two years ago," someone complained as they walked by. It was Angie, and she looked like she was in a bad mood.

"I meant that I've changed in the past couple of days," Lucas said with a cold smile. "While Tazmily has not. I know that it's obvious that this town wouldn't shift along with me, but it still seems strange to my instincts. Is something wrong?"

"Fuel's just been acting a little… strange. He said he'd be right back with some new ingredients for the bakery, but he never came back," Angie sighed. "I'd go after him but the woods are full of chimeras, I don't want to deal with them."

"Fuel went into the forest alone?" Ninten frowned.

"Of course, that's where he and his dad lives after all," Angie said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he snuck more food to that mouse of his."

"They _still_ live in that burned house?" Lucas asked. "Fuel never told me that."

"He and Mr. Lighter fixed it up, though lightning strikes it down sometimes," Angie said before she looked at the people behind the two boys. "... Is that Duster with you?"

"We think so, yes," Kumatora said. "He has amnesia, and we're bringing him here to see if it rings any bells. Do you recognize this town, Duster?"

Duster looked around the town, he seemed to be thinking and trying to remember. "... Well… no. This place feels familiar but I don't recognize it at all."

"How long ago was Duster missing?" Ninten asked. "If it was before Tazmily changed, it's probably no surprise he wouldn't recognize it."

Kumatora nodded.

"You're right," she said. "He went missing two years ago, which is why we need to take him to Wess. Lucas, you said that he's in the retirement home, right?"

"Yeah," Lucas said. "We should go now… but I'm worried about Fuel. I think that I'll head into the forest and see if I can find him. Do you want to come with me, Ninten?"

"Um… You sure you two can go on your own?" Ninten asked Kumatora and Duster.

"I think we can handle it," Duster said. "Well… maybe. Assuming Vio- I mean Kumatora doesn't lose her temper at me."

Kumatora rolled her eyes.

"Stop acting so dramatic," she said. "I rarely lose my temper. We'll be fine, Ninten."

Ninten did want to go with Duster to see if he would get his memory back since they were both in the same boat, but he also didn't want to leave Lucas to go on his own. "... Okay, Lucas and I will be back as soon as we can!"

The scarf wearing boy hurried after Lucas as the two headed into town to get to the forest. However, they ran into Fassad along the way.

"Oh, hello," Fassad said, wearing a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Where are you two headed?"

"None of your business," Lucas snapped.

"Oh my," Fassad said, seeming offended. "So poignant… you need to temper your anger, young man."

" _Don't_ talk to me," Lucas hissed. "Are you ready to go, Ninten?"

Ninten was a bit surprised at Lucas's hostility towards Fassad. Sure, he mentioned that he didn't like the guy, but Ninten still hadn't found any real reason to hate him.

"Uh… yeah," Ninten said before turning to Fassasd. "I'm really sorry about my friend's behavior, he hasn't really been in the best of moods lately."

"No worries," Fassad said. "It does make my heart ache to see Lucas act like this, though."

"You're laughing on the inside, sadist," Lucas said.

"Lucas! Don't be so rude to him," Ninten scolded. "Look, I don't know where your animosity is coming from but at least try to be a little more polite."

"Politeness is for those who don't try to kill my friends," Lucas muttered quietly enough so that only Ninten could hear. "Now can we go?"

Ninten sighed before he said, "Yeah, let's go." He turned back to Fassad and said, "Please excuse us."

Lucas took off, heading into the forest. Ninten almost had to run to keep up.

"Sorry about that," Lucas said. "But I can't stand that guy. Most sadists get booted out of town, but everyone seems to love him."

"I still don't know what went on between you two, but it must've been pretty bad," Ninten said quietly. "Since I don't have any personal grudge against him, I can see why most people seem to love him. He acts so nice and jolly that you can't help but like to listen to what he says, at least that's probably what everyone else thinks. If he really is as sadistic and bad as you say he is, then I guess I don't blame you for… well… being a little hostile to him."

"Thanks, Ninten," Lucas said, seeming relieved. "That really means a lot to…" Lucas trailed off, his eyes once again turning icy cold. Ninten could easily tell why.

Flint was standing right in front of them.

"Hello," Lucas said. "Looking for Claus?"

Ninten stood a few feet away from the two, not wanting to get involved with the family crisis between the two, that and Flint kinda scares him.

Flint was looking at his son and at Ninten before he sighed and said, "... Actually Lucas, I was looking for some ingredients for dinner tonight. How are you?"

Lucas looked a little guilty at Flint's words, but buried that emotion.

"I'm doing all right," Lucas said. "Although I am surprised that you haven't ranted about Ninten yet."

"I have no right to judge your friend without getting to know him first, Lucas," Flint said calmly. "I… I'm going to trust your judgement, Lucas. You've grown to take care of yourself, so I see no reason to doubt you now."

Lucas' eyes widened in surprise.

"...Really?" he asked softly.

"It may take some time for me to adjust to the idea… but if your friend really needs a place to stay… then he's welcome to stay at our place. Just as long as he can pull his weight around the house," Flint said.

Lucas' mouth slowly broke into a grin. He ran up and hugged his father.

"Thank you," Lucas said. "Thank you… I've been so lonely without you for these past two years, but I never wanted to say it... You sounded just like you used to. You're back now. Thank you."

Ninten's heart couldn't help but well up. He never thought he'd see Lucas acting like… well like a normal kid who misses his father.

Flint awkwardly hugged Lucas back, it was clear the man wasn't used to showing emotions like this. "I'm… sorry for leaving you for so long, Lucas… I know I can't make it up to you and Hinawa enough for the way I acted, but I promise to at least try. And as for Claus… well…" he looked a little spaced out, like he was thinking deeply about a mystery that was close to being solved yet still too far from the actual answer. "... I just have a feeling he may not be as far as we thought."

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.

"I'm not really sure myself," Flint said as he tilted his hat. "... Lucas, and you too Ninten, if you run into a couple of boys around your age… keep an eye on that masked one. I just have a feeling about him."

Ninten blinked at that, did Flint talk to Ness and 'Bud' earlier? "Uh... y-yes sir."

Flint chuckled at Ninten's nervousness. "You don't have to act so formal around me. I apologize for the way I acted to you."

Ninten wasn't sure what to say to that, he was worried he might accidentally trigger Flint's wrath if he said something wrong. It seems like Lucas and Flint both become very scary when they're angry about something.

 _Must run in the family,_ Ninten thought.

"Dad," Lucas said. "We already met a kid with a mask. He was one of the pigmasks. Is that who you mean?"

"Yes. He claims to not have a name, or so I heard," Flint said. "That Ness kid told me a little about him, but that was it. But I can't help but think that maybe he's… I shouldn't say anymore, I don't want to give you false hope. I'm going to head back home and see if I remember how to prepare dinner in the kitchen. I'll leave you two boys to whatever you're doing out here."

"Sounds great!" Lucas exclaimed, and Ninten could see some of Lucas' enthusiasm bubble up from the depths of his heart. "Thanks, Dad!"

Flint tipped his hat to Lucas as he left the two alone in the forest.

Ninten couldn't help but smile a bit, "Wow Lucas, it's like your father did a complete 180 since we last spoke to him."

"Yeah," Lucas said. "I don't know why, but I also don't care. It's… wonderful. Now, we should get to work looking for Fuel. I wonder if Angie searched the forest before us…"

"Didn't you hear her? She said that she didn't want to deal with the chimeras. Maybe there's more of them the deeper we go into the forest," Ninten said as they began walking further into the forest.

They started passing Isaac's cabin when they came to the spot Ninten woke up in. Ninten couldn't help but stare at the ground he first woke up in before looking up at the sky, feeling like there was probably something up there before he had woken up. A faded image of a pig-like snout ship came to mind and he frowned. Ninten scratched his cheek as he tried to figure out what that means.

 _Is it possible that I'm one of the Pigmask and just forgot? Hinawa also told me I came from a pork ship… But if I really am a Pigmask… Lucas would hate me…_ Ninten thought to himself, frowning as all he could recall was being on a Pigmask ship. The boy then realized he had been standing in this spot for a while and looked around to see Lucas was already further ahead.

Ninten hurried after Lucas, but couldn't help looking back. _Just who am I? Am I really just another soldier that caused trouble for Lucas and the people of Tazmily?_

Not paying attention, he ran right into Lucas, who had stopped.

"Oh, hey Ninten," Lucas said with a good-natured smile. "Did you get so focused about searching for clues of Fuel's whereabouts that you totally forgot about me?"

 _I have never seen Lucas looking so happy before. I guess that talk with Flint really lifted his spirits,_ Ninten thought to himself before he said, "Something like that… I just thought I might've remembered something." He hesitated before he said, "Where does Fuel live anyways? Maybe we'll find some clues there."

"We're heading there right now," Lucas said, pointing to a rickety house in the near distance.

"Whoa… that house had seen better days," Ninten said when he saw half the roof was gone and looked burned down.

The two started walking towards the house when Ninten heard some voices nearby, he quickly put a hand on Lucas's shoulder to stop him, "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, I hear voices. I don't know what they're saying."

"They sound kinda close… should we see who they are?" Ninten asked. "Or just keep going?"

"Let's check it out," Lucas said. "It might be Fuel, after all."

Ninten was about to agree when a chicken snake suddenly came slithering by with Fuel's wrist tied to its tail.

"Hey! Let go of my pet mouse, you stupid slitherhen!" Fuel yelled.

Ninten and Lucas stared at the scene in shock for a few seconds as the creature Fuel called a slitherhen dragged Fuel through the forest.

"Fuel!" Both Ninten and Lucas shouted as they ran after him and the slitherhen.

"Did that thing eat Fuel's mouse?" Ninten asked as they were running through the forest after the tied up Fuel.

"I don't know," Lucas answered.

The two of them were able to catch up to the slitherhen rather quickly, partly due to Fuel's struggling.

"A little help here?" Fuel asked as he pummeled the slitherhen fruitlessly.

Ninten grabbed the slitherhen's throat to get it to stop moving while Lucas used his stick to beat it down. The slitherhen passed out before long, letting Fuel's wrist go.

"Fuel, how the heck did you end up being tied to a slitherhen?" Ninten demanded after he let go of its throat.

"Don't ask me," Fuel said. "I'm not the one with handcuffs for a tail."

"We heard you screaming at it to let go of your mouse, what happened to it?" Ninten asked.

As if on cue, something was squeaking and moving in the slitherhen's torso area. Ninten groaned as he picked up the slitherhen.

* * *

A bit later, they were by the river, Ninten was washing his face with it. "That was _vile_! You owe me big time Fuel!"

"I didn't ask you to do that," he pointed out, the mouse sitting in his hand.

"Yeah, well I just didn't want you to lose your mouse friend," Ninten grumbled, still splashing his face.

"Well, I do appreciate that," Fuel said. "Thank you, Ninten."

"Quiet," Lucas muttered. "Do you guys hear something…?"

"Yeah, there's a rumbling sound," Fuel said. "I wonder what it is."

Lucas' eyes shot wide open.

"That's a tank!" he exclaimed.

"A what?" Ninten looked back at Lucas. "A tank? As in one of those big things the military uses? THAT tank? What the heck would that be doing in a forest?"

"Hunting," Lucas muttered. "Wouldn't be the first time it's happened. We use bows for hunting animals and tanks for hunting humans."

"Oh man," Fuel said. "We need to check this out!"

"Check out tanks? That are being used for hunting HUMANS? Doesn't that seem like suicide?" Ninten nervously asked, but Fuel and Lucas were already on the move. The red hat wearing boy sighed as he stood up and hurried after them.

They didn't have to go far to find the tanks; they were big, white, and quite hard to miss overall. They were moving around and blocking entrances and exits to the forest. Ninten looked at each one before starting to cough a bit.

"Hey," Fuel said. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those the friends who you were with earlier?"

"Yeah," Lucas said grimly. "Duster and Kumatora."

The two of them ran up to Ninten's group, stumbling to a halt.

"They blocked us in!" Kumatora exclaimed. "What do we do now?"

"Diplomacy?" Fuel asked hopefully.

"Cute," Kumatora replied flatly. "But I don't think that's an option."

"Wait- *cough* why are they *cough* chasing after you? *cough! cough!*" Ninten wheezed, the smoke coming out from the tanks making it hard for him to breathe.

Right then, Fassad strode up, followed by a horde of pigmasks. He looked pleased with himself.

"You won't escape, thief!" he shouted in glee.

"Fassad's pretending like Duster stole something," Kumatora explained. "And now he's pulling out tanks because Duster is 'resisting arrest,' or some bullcrap like that."

"I don't even know if I'm this Duster fellow he's looking for, but he won't stop chasing us." Duster frowned.

"We saw Wess, remember?" Kumatora asked. "You recognized him. You're almost certainly Duster. You even remembered where you hid that object."

"Yeah, but I still don't know if that's really who I am," Duster said.

Ninten tried to put up his scarf to his mouth and nose; he really didn't want his asthma acting up right now. As much as he wanted to talk, he needed to use every ounce of oxygen in the air to keep him alive.

"Now," Fassad said. "The rest of you had better back off or suffer arrest along with the thief."

"Duster didn't steal anything!" Kumatora shouted defiantly. "I'm fighting with him!"

"As am I," Lucas added softly.

"Err…" Fuel said. "I trust you and Duster, but I don't think that I would help if I did fight. I… may decide to take the coward's way out."

Ninten wasn't able to answer, all he could do was try to breathe right now.

"See?" Fassad asked. "At least one of you makes sense here."

 _I don't like this…_ Ninten thought. _Fassad really is acting like that sadistic person Lucas kept calling him, and now I'm having trouble breathing. Why oh why did I have to have asthma?_ Ninten thought to himself as he began crawling back, trying to get away from all the tanks so he could breathe again.

"Healing alpha!" Lucas shouted, and Ninten's lungs immediately felt much better. "Are you alright?"

Ninten gave a gasp of air as he managed to stand back up. "Yeah, thanks Lucas. I should be fine for now." He looked at Fassad as he glared, "I was hoping Lucas was wrong when he said you were a sadistic person, Fassad, but it looks like he was right after all. I'm not going to stand by while you try to hurt my friends!"

Fassad started laughing.

"You kids think that you can do everything, don't you?"

"Yes we do," came a voice from behind Ninten. He turned around to see Ness and Bud standing there, wearing their commander's outfits. Bud looked as emotionless as ever while Ness wore a look of disapproval. "What is the meaning of this, Fassad?" Ness asked.

"This man is a thief!" Fassad exclaimed.

"Bud," Ness said softly. "Is he telling the truth?"

Ninten frowned worriedly as the masked boy beside Ness began studying Duster, most likely using his helmet to scan his data or something.

Bud eventually answered and said, "According to the data, Duster is a thief in training by another well known thief named Wess. Duster was last seen in Osohe Castle to steal something very important."

Ninten's heart sank when Bud just confirmed that Duster is indeed a thief and had stolen something considered important.

"If he hadn't stolen it, you pigmasks would have stolen it yourselves!" Kumatora exclaimed. "Scan Fassad! See what he's thinking under that… well, facade of his."

"Fassad is one of the higher ranks in our army. I can't do that without his permission," Bud answered her.

Ninten frowned as he looked back and forth between the tanks, Fassad, Ness and Bud, he really didn't like where this was going.

"So what's it going to be?" he asked Ness and Bud, he saw them fight before, he knew how strong they are, if they were to battle against them and the tanks, they're completely screwed.

"I don't know," Ness said.

"Well, _I_ do," Fassad said, smiling maliciously. "You two commanders are going to fight and capture the criminal and his friends. You will do it alone."

"I think that we outrank you," Ness said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Technically, yes…" Fassad said. "But what would happen if I told Master Porky that you refused to help out on a mission? I don't think that he would treat your family kindly."

"You wouldn't," Ness hissed.

Fassad roared with laughter.

"I can and I will, if you don't follow my orders."

Ness clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, visibly torn between fear and friendship. Eventually, he looked up to Ninten and Lucas.

"Please forgive me," he whispered, his eyes shining with guilt. "PK Rockin alpha."

"Move!" Ninten shouted.

The group scrambled just as Ness released psychedelic lights into the air that came down on them, charring the grass. Ninten grabbed Fuel and pulled him back, knowing out of all of them this boy probably didn't have any fighting experience.

"T-Thanks," Fuel whispered. "I do terribly in life or death situations. I feel like a coward, but I don't think that I would be much help if I did try to fight." He scrambled over to Fassad, looking guilty. "I'm sorry," he said.

Ninten didn't have time to respond before Ness charged at him. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see Bud fighting Lucas, Duster, and Kumatora all at once.

Ninten picked up a stick and used it to defend against Ness's bat, pushing him back a bit from the force. Ness swung hard and strong; in, fact Ninten was surprised the stick didn't snap in two after that. Ninten knew he had to fight back to defend himself, and he didn't want to use the 4th-D Slip as it was not only costly but he'd also practically abandon his friends to these two commanders.

"You know," Ness said as he swung his bat at Ninten. "You seem to have access to PSI abilities that you've forgotten. You know, because of your amnesia. I wonder what other powers you have that lay right below the film of consciousness?"

"What's it matter to you?" Ninten asked as he dodged another swing from Ness before swinging the stick at him. "Wouldn't it be better for you if I didn't remember those PSI?"

"It would," Ness said, blocking Ninten's attack. "There are some psionic abilities that would screw us over. Did you know that some PSI users have the ability to teleport? That would be horrible for us. It even has the power to warp multiple people."

Ninten raise an eyebrow at this as Ness pushed him back. "... And you're telling me this?" He furrowed his eyebrow before realization came to him. Ness was trying to tell him, in his own subtle way, how to get out of this fight. _But I don't know how to teleport! … Do I?_

"However, teleport has some limitations," Ness continued. "You have to run in a straight line for a distance before actually warping, which can't really happen when the tanks are blocking you off… Oh wait, my PK Rockin knocked one of the tanks over, leaving an opening in the barricade. That was careless of me, huh?"

Ninten looked over to see a tank flipped over, revealing a nice straight line that he could try using his teleport on. However, he had to get to his friends first and they were too busy with Bud.

There was a sudden explosion of hexagons, Lucas or Bud must've just used PK Love. Ninten had to dodge another swing by Ness before he said, "Yes, it's very careless, too bad your partner over there is sure to make up for your little 'mistake'."

Ness' eyebrows narrowed.

"Duck," he whispered.

Right as Ninten crouched to his knees, Ness shouted: "PK Rockin Alpha!" The psychedelic energy lights flew right over his head and hit everyone behind him, Bud included. "Oops," Ness said. "It looks like I sent everyone reeling, including my partner."

Ninten looked over at his friends nervously, he still wasn't sure if he could do Teleport, but he better try it now while he still had the chance. He mouthed 'thank you' to Ness before he ran over to his friends while Bud was still recovering from Ness's 'mistake'. "Guys! Hurry and grab my hand!" He yelled to them as he was running by them.

Ninten grabbed Lucas's hand, who grabbed Kumatora's, who grabbed Duster's. "Now hang on! This better work… Teleport alpha!" Ninten felt something tingle in his mind as his legs began running on their own. He and his friends behind him were suddenly going faster and faster as there was a loud pitch noise ringing in their ears. The background suddenly became blurry as their bodies began to dissolve, Ninten didn't dare let go of his friends until this was complete.

The sound's pitch was at its highest as their bodies completely dissolved, but then it stopped as their bodies reformed and the area around them came back into existence.

They found themselves in the middle of the Clayman factory that lay in ruins from the cattlesnakes.

"Thanks, Ninten!" Lucas exclaimed. "You totally saved us there!"

Ninten fell to his hands and knees, feeling dizzy from that. "Ugh… you think so…? I didn't even think it would work."

"What… just… happened?" Duster questioned, laying on his back. "I get it… this is all one big nightmare…"

"Teleportation PSI," Kumatora explained. "Although I have no idea how Ninten here knows how to use it." She looked at him as if hoping he'd explain.

Ninten bit his lip as he remembered he hadn't told anyone other than Lucas, Ness and Bud that he had amnesia. "I uh… learned it from… before I came to Tazmily."

"That is possibly the _least_ confident response that I've ever heard," Kumatora replied with a laugh. "I guess it doesn't matter. What does matter is that we're actually pretty close to where Duster hid the important object that we keep talking about."

Duster grumbled as he stood up and said, "Yes, but no more of that teleportation, I thought I was going to die back there."

"Hey, it saved our lives," Ninten said.

"I guess it did, but next time a little warning would be nice." Duster said. "Anyways, follow me, I remember where I placed the important item."

Duster lead the group towards a waterfall. Ninten sighed in relief but couldn't help but wonder what other PSI he could use, and just how dangerous he actually is once he does remember who he was.


	14. Chapter 14: The Mask Comes Off

**Connor: Hey, everyone! :) Here we are with another chapter of Time Distorter. I also have an announcement… if you don't care about my solo works (which is totally fine), now's your time to skip to Fox's line. :) Anyways, I've noticed from going through the earlier chapter of Ceres that some of them really just don't fit well with the second half. I don't want to make any major plot changes in the first part of Ceres because it would throw people off, but I am worried about it for the second installment. There's a poll on my profile asking whether I should write Ceres all the way through before publishing it so that doesn't happen again. If you're interested (again, totally fine if you aren't) you can swing by there and I'll take your vote into consideration. Do you have any promotions, Fox, or am I going to be the only shameless self-promoter again? xD**

 **DarkFoxKit: Not really. ^^' But I guess I will say if the readers who've read this story and enjoy it, to try and check out To Rebuild or to be Reborn? My co-writer could use the confidence boost. Other than that, I'm ready to answer the reviews! :D**

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** I didn't feel very good having Lucas and Flint fight like that for too long, so I'm glad we managed to get the two to start making up too. :D

 **Connor:** Don't you mean to say his "clever-Ness?" *gets pelted with rotten tomatoes* Okay, I'll stop! D:

 **Shimo no Ko: ****Connor:** Since I write Ness, I'll take credit for that. Thanks! :) I didn't know that was an actual word haha. Triskaidekaphobia. That's a mouthful. Yeah, Ceres is done… at least, the first installment is. Yeah, Fox is willing to draw out stuff like that in Rebuild and Reborn, which is fine, but I start to get impatient when my characters don't catch on haha. See you! :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yeah, it's kind of what I enjoy doing. I guess you could say anime's inspired me to draw things like that out. I find it fun and suspenseful to do really, but I can see how that can cause people to become impatient about the reveal. ^^'

 **A Fan:** Wow, that's going to be hard to figure out. I hope we don't end up answering the same person. ^^' Cause it's quite confusing. Yeah it's obvious the Masked Man is Claus, but Ness didn't know Claus beforehand, so he's obviously not going to recognize someone he's never met before. Same goes for Ninten, plus his amnesia doesn't help. And as for Lucas, he somewhat feels there's something familiar but doesn't seem to think too much of it. And yay Ness for helping out Flint! :D Seems Ninten is the only logical one in the group, and that's coming from a boy who has no memory of his past life.

 **Connor:** Porky mentioned in one part that he would brainwash Ness and send him back to slaughter his family if he disobeyed. Ness knows that Porky can easily travel back in time and kidnap his family the same way that Porky did with him. I should have explained that more. Sorry! And thanks! :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Gotta love and Ness and Ninten's interaction with each other. :)

 **Ender2142:** It's nice to know the name of the one who's stalking this story. XD I'm glad you like my stories too. ^^' I'm sure people have preference music to listen to while reading fanfiction, I know I do. Huh, that sounds complicated, but good luck with that! Well thing is Fassad hasn't been telling lies exactly, at least not direct lies. It's a lot harder to scan for twisted truths than it is for direct lying. Right now Fassad's got Claus wrapped around his finger, so of course he'd easily take everything Fassad said about him to heart (even if the Magypsies says he doesn't have one). And you like Ana, huh? :3

 **Connor:** In that case, we may have some good news for you! :D

 **Prodigy411 Mark 2:** **Connor:** He's the same as he is in Mother 3. I interpret his state as a brainwashed one in Mother 3 (although it never states that Porky brainwashed him), which carries over to this story. It's a little confusing since we both write him and I think that we picture his character a little differently. Oh, and if you don't know, in Mother 3, Porky brought Dr. Andonuts to the future with him. You know, since he's a smart dude.

 **DarkFoxKit:** If you want my opinion on Dr. Andonuts, I'm not really sure if he is brainwashed or not, it doesn't seem like he is and more like he's there because he's being forced, mostly because of what he said to Porky near the end of Mother 3.

 **crabbyTomato:** I guess not everyone wants to review, but it's very much appreciated when they do. Yeah, Fassad's pretty much like his in-game counterpart, though whether or not he's actually evil remains… strangely enough debatable. None of us really knows his motives for why he was helping Porky, but according to a mouse he was actually pretty nice. Anyways, I write Ninten and I wanted him to be the more logical, understanding type of character, especially since the other protagonists in this story are… more eccentric, gotta have at least one normal guy, right? And I love to think of Ninten getting that mouse out of the slitherhen to be a cartoon moment, we don't get a lot of those in this story.

Yeah, gotta feel bad for poor old Flint, but at least he's finally allowing himself to recover and actually take care of the son he's been neglecting. Let's hope he doesn't try to scare Ninten with his wrath again. ^^' You and everyone else are looking forward to Bud's identity of being revealed. XP

 **Connor:** Ness isn't _that_ eccentric, Fox. xD And Ness is pretty perceptive (I wish that I was as perceptive as him haha), so he'll start putting the pieces together eventually. He did see Claus' actual face, after all. And Giygas isn't going to appear in this story. Bringing the dude back would be a little cheesy. :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Although I heard that Giygas was originally going to be brought back as Lucas's Nightmare in Mother 3, but those are just fan speculations.

 **PSIBoy:** The concept of Ninten and Ness being dumped in the world of Mother 3 was just an idea I was toying around with, and when I said that to Connor both of us decided to test it out on a story format. And it looks like it's going really well so far. Ness didn't really have much of a personality in the actual game, so he's free for us to make one, and as you can see Connor really enjoys making Ness joke around a lot. XD It does make it fun to interact with this Ness as the more 'lifeless' Masked Man. It's too bad you don't have much of an opinion on Ninten since he is one of the main characters I myself write. Fassad is many things really, but being cruel, sadistic and manipulative are something we can all agree on.

 **Connor:** Well, it's a little presumptuous to say that anything in this story is "going really well," but it _could_ be a lot worse. :) And thanks for your compliments about the characters! I write Ness and Lucas btw. See you later! :D

 **Commander Bud:** **Connor:** Uh… Ness is going to do some more squirming. Uh… Uh… yeah, let's go with that. Me? Afraid? Heh heh… What? That wasn't a nervous laugh! Who are you looking at? And uh… okay, we'll keep writing. Roger that or whatever I'm supposed to say there. I just hope that Porky doesn't come check this himself… eep!

(by the way, this was really funny :D)

 **DarkFoxKit:** … Uh… Commander Bud? What are you doing on here? Shouldn't you be IN the story? … Okay, don't kill me please! DX I uh… hope we don't make your master bored, if he does… uh… I'll be far, FAR away. Okay!

 **Your fan:** Glad you enjoy the story. Though Connor would probably say it's not THAT good and we're not THAT talented, we just like to write what comes to our minds. ^^'

 **Connor:** Fox is right haha. I mean, there's a reason why we're not published authors. :)

 **StickofTruth:** Yeah, when you're really into a story you just don't want to stop until the bitter end. Originally I wanted it to start after the three year gap, but Connor suggested we should do it a year earlier, it might help change a few things in the story from the canon. Our interpretation of Tazmily? Huh, good to know we did well with the characters and dynamics. I always hope the characters I make are alive for the readers to enjoy. Your theory about Porky confusing him for Ness is pretty much what happened. ^^' It doesn't help that those two look very identical to each other. And I always try to make sure we remember the other characters in the scene too, since when we just have two of them talking it's easy to forget the other one is still here too. I would think these boys were mature for their age after everything they've been through, even if one of them have no memory of it. Well technically both of them don't, but for different reasons.

 **Connor:** Well, keep in mind that Ness had a lot of childhood experiences with Porky and possibly still sees him in that light. And Ness is also a really idealistic person, which comes out once he drops his teenage swagger. :) It does make sense to me that Ness is at least hoping that he can save Porky. As for Dr. Andonuts, that's mostly my fault. I don't really plan out my characters (otherwise they seem to rigid), so they tend to just take off in a random direction, personality-wise. It's why I normally try to write universes that are further from canon.

But thanks for the compliments! :) And the plot might go on a different path than you expect… :D

* * *

A wave of victory washed over Ness. Ninten _did_ know how to Teleport! He tried to hide his smile as he walked up to Bud and Fassad.

"A pity that they got away, huh?" he asked.

Bud was frowning at Ness, but didn't say anything. Fassad, on the other hand, was fuming.

"They only got away because you got careless! Why did you destroy our tanks with your PSI!?" Fassad snapped angrily at Ness.

"I didn't destroy your tanks," Ness replied. "They still work fine. The fact that I could flip them over with the limited psionic muscle that I exerted seems to indicate a design flaw, hmm?"

"Don't get smart with me, boy," Fassad hissed. "How did they get away in the first place? They shouldn't have been able to run!"

Fassad took his anger out by kicking one of the flipped-over tanks.

"Sometimes, things just don't go our way," Ness said. "Didn't your parents teach that to you when you were five?"

"I don't have parents, nor do I care for them," Fassad hissed in Ness's face. "You let them get away, you go track them down!" Then he turned to Bud. "And you! You were supposed to be keeping an eye on him! Master Porky did say he's still your prisoner to look out for, and you let him help them get away!"

 _No parents, huh?_ Ness thought, making a mental note of that. _Was he an orphan or something?_

"I apologize sir, I didn't realize that Ness would help the enemy in such a way," Bud answered him, sounding as emotionless as when Ness first spoke to him.

"Wait," Ness said. "What makes you think that _I_ helped them?"

"You took out the tanks blocking their path AND knocked down your co-commander! I see that as helping them rather than fighting them, little punk." Fassad hissed at him.

"Little punk?" Ness asked. "Not only are your emotional impulses on par with a five year-old's, you also speak with the same vocabulary, it seems. Did you notice that both PK Rockins hit my enemies as well as my allies? I'll admit that I should have been a bit more careful, but I did more damage to them than I did to us. How was I supposed to know that they could teleport away?"

"Teleport?" Fassad became intrigued. "That PSI power had been lost for almost a millenia. The fact that there's someone out there who can still use it is pretty surprising." He seemed to be ignoring that Ness had pretty much insulted him with his earlier statement, that or he was used to being insulted that way.

"Well, Ninten did scream 'Teleport'!" Ness said. "I don't know for sure if he actually teleported. He _could_ have been trying to summon a horde of poodles."

"Don't get wise with me," Fassad growled before turning to Bud. "You, go and try to find those kids that got away, as well as that thief and woman."

"Yes sir." Bud saluted, still sounding like a robot.

"And make sure your co-commander here don't screw up like last time. Send us your coordinates as soon as you find them. Do NOT face them alone," Fassad said to Bud, knowing he would always obey like the loyal dog that he is programmed to be.

"Why so hard on me, Fassad?" Ness asked. "How was I supposed to know that Ninten could teleport? Should have I been watching the grass as well to see if it suddenly becomes sentient and starts attacking me? What do you think that grass would say if it _could_ talk? Maybe something like 'I will avenge my brothers and sisters who you've carelessly trampled on!' Does that sound right?"

Fassad and Bud were staring at Ness, as if having trouble trying to comprehend what he just said. Bud looked at the ground and moved it around with his feet. Fassad just shook his head, "Just follow the orders, and make it snappy." He turned and began walking off. "I have to fix up the tanks you flipped over."

"Are you sure that I shouldn't attack them to flip them over again?" Ness asked innocently.

"No! You've done enough," Fassad growled. "Commander, get him and get going." he ordered Bud.

 _That was a joke, but okay._

Bud activated his jetwings before picking up Ness and flying into the sky. As soon as they were high above the trees, Bud decided to say, "Why must you antagonize him?"

"Because he antagonized me," Ness replied. "I'm simply repaying the favor… with a bit of interest."

"That's not wise. Antagonizing someone because they antagonized you would only make them want to fight back more. Those who give up are often shattered," Bud answered him. "I believe you humans do that because you are angered or offended and want to fight back. I don't care for such things."

"I'm aware of all of that," Ness said, looking at the rapidly shrinking landscape below. "Do you think that Fuel will be all right?"

"Fuel?" Bud asked. "Oh, you mean that carpenter's kid? I saw Fassad letting a Pigmask Captain take him back to his home, he's in good hands. But there is one thing that I wanted to ask you… why did you hit me with your PSI?"

"Ninten ducked under it," Ness said. "And it still hit three of our foes. It would have been a good move if Ninten hadn't known Teleport."

Bud was silent, making Ness wonder if he picked up on that lie-but-not-lie he said, or if maybe he was getting a little suspicious. "... Even so… you should have enough control over your PSI to not hit your allies."

"PK Rockin is a chaotic move," Ness said. "It hits everything in front of me, ally or enemy." _Thank goodness that's actually true._

"... Do you know how to use Teleport?" Bud suddenly asked him.

"Yes," Ness answered, "Although it's disabled right now."

"... And yet… Fassad said that PSI had been lost for a melliena…" Bud said as they were landing. "How could you know how to Teleport if that PSI had been lost for so long?"

"A monkey taught me," Ness said. "I'm not kidding. You know that I'm not lying with that detector of yours…" Ness trailed off. "Wait. Lucas teleported away with Ninten. I hope that Flint will be all right…"

Ness noticed they had landed on the beach of Tazmily, which meant they didn't go very far.

"I'm sure Flint will be fine. If you're talking emotionally, I can't say. Emotions are unstable and unpredictable," Bud said. "And I don't know where to start looking for them. If they could teleport they could be anywhere."

"Do we have to take orders from Fassad?" Ness asked.

"..." Bud looked at Ness as if conflicted. "You… probably don't since you do technically outrank him. I however, was programmed to take orders from anyone higher rank than a soldier Pigmask."

"Wait, does that mean that _I_ can order you around?" Ness asked.

"To an extent," Bud answered. "You are still technically a prisoner too after all."

"So, could I command you to play through Chrono Trigger?" Ness asked. "Because you _need_ to experience that game."

"... I don't know what that even is." Bud frowned. "We are to look for the ones that got away and inform Fassad's army."

"I was kidding about Chrono Trigger," Ness said. "Kind of. But remember that those are _your_ orders, not mine. I want to go back to Tazmily and talk to Flint. Who knows? Ninten and his friends might have teleported there." _But even if they did, they could almost certainly teleport back out._

"I have to stay with you anyways, that was also my direct orders from Master Porky himself," Bud said with a sigh. "I rather not talk to emotional people again, but I will follow you."

"So, we basically flew all of the way over here for nothing, huh?" Ness said. "We are so good at our jobs. Heck, I'm surprised that the word 'efficiency' doesn't have 'Ness' in it."

"We are at Cerulean Beach, Tazmily isn't far from here. I couldn't think of where else to go since this is where you wanted to go after the forest," Bud shrugged before picking up a seashell on the beach.

"Speaking of that, how did you like our trek through the forest?" Ness asked.

"It was educational to see the environment in such a way without having to just do a mission," Bud said. "Do you think Flint will like a sea shell?"

"I don't know," Ness said. _And why do you care?_ "But what I meant was… did you have fun?"

"... Fun…" Bud paused. "... I suppose that could be described as fun."

"That's good," Ness said, a smile breaking out onto his face. "It's important to enjoy yourself, at least every once in awhile. I'm not saying that fun is the only measure of success in life, but we do need to reach a baseline level of happiness before we can do much else."

Bud's eyes looked distant as he stared out into the ocean, then looked down at the seashell in his hand. "... Always wanting to have fun…" he whispered before turning to Ness. "You said you wanted to speak with Flint again? We better go."

Ness nodded, walking back to Tazmily's central square (which was thankfully devoid of a certain individual named Fassad) before heading back to Flint's house. He walked up to the door, taking deep breaths.

 _I don't want to do this,_ he thought. _I don't want to do this. I want this all to fade away._

Feeling bile in his throat and anxiety in his heart, Ness knocked on the door.

 _"_ _Hey! You two are back!"_ A familiar dog barked from his doghouse.

The door soon opened, revealing Flint and something smelled like it was cooking. "Oh, you two boys are back already?" he said in surprise.

Ness took a deep breath. He wanted to do _anything_ but this.

"I have some bad news," he said. "So I'm going to spill it quickly. Your son affiliated himself with Duster, who is a wanted criminal. As a result, the pigmasks are trying to capture him. Right as they were about to succeed, Ninten teleported them away. I don't know where they are now… I'm sorry."

Flint went silent, as if he didn't know what to say or the news was so shocking that he didn't register it at first. "... Duster? Duster was here? And the Pigmasks wanted to capture him? … There were some accusations that he stole a lot of money two years ago but I thought they let that drop. And Lucas… he's become a strong boy, I know I can trust him to take care of himself… besides, he probably doesn't want to see me right now. And I'm sure Ninten is a good boy."

Ness sighed in relief. Flint took that better than he had expected.

"Remember that you have the right to feel _awful,_ Flint," Ness said. "You can trust Lucas while still feeling devastated that he's gone, at least for now. And honestly… I don't know if he'll return anytime soon, with the level of pigmask influence in this area. That must weigh on your mind like a boulder."

"... It does. My son and only remaining family is out there and the Pigmasks are chasing him down, how can I not feel awful about this? Or worried." Flint frowned. "But throwing a fit about it will do more harm than help as I have learned the hard way. I wish I could go out and find him, but after leaving him neglected for two years trying to find another son I lost… I feel like I owe it to Lucas to at least try to take care of the house and my animals."

"You can express your emotions," Ness whispered. "I understand that you don't want to fall into a rage, but there are other ways to release those bad emotions. I… don't want you to suppress your emotions. That rarely ends out well. And I think that Lucas really misses you, too. Maybe he feels spiteful, but he can't forget about his dad. That's just not how it _works._ "

"I see… well… thank you for telling me. If you excuse me… I want to be alone for a while," Flint said as he tilted his hat over his face.

"... Um… sir?" Bud suddenly said, catching both Ness and Flint's attention. The helmet wearing boy handed him a seashell. "...Just thought you might like it."

Flit took the seashell and looked at Bud. "...Why are you giving me this?"

"It just looked pretty," Bud answered.

"... Heh… my two boys used to always bring me and my wife seashells they find on the beach all the time," Flint gave a sad chuckle. "Thank you."

"Aww," Ness said. "That's really sweet, Bud." _And now I sound like the parent._ Ness turned back to Flint. "We'll let you have some peace and quiet now. Once again… I'm sorry."

Bud followed Ness away from the house as Flint slowly went back inside and closed the door. Bud noticed Ness was smiling at him and said, "I had only given it to him because I believe it would help soften the blow a little bit."

"Still, that was really nice of you," Ness said.

"You're always saying it's nice to be nice with people," Bud said, though Ness could've sworn he saw a hint of red on his face… was he blushing?

"It is," Ness agreed, "Which is why I'm currently giving you my approval. Doesn't it mean so much to have a 14 year old kid approve of you?"

"...You're teasing me aren't you?" Bud narrowed his eyes in annoyance at him.

"A little," Ness admitted, "But I do appreciate what you did. It seemed to help Flint. Maybe _you_ should do the talking from now on!"

"No. I don't speak unless I have to," Bud answered. "Now shouldn't we-"

"Hey you two…" A voice suddenly spoke up.

Ness and Bud turned to see it was Fuel, he was looking rather upset and guilty about something.

"Fuel," Ness said. "I… I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Fuel snapped. "None of this is your fault. I'm not an idiot, Ness. If you hadn't been there, Fassad would have ordered the tanks to attack."

"At least it's good to see that you're safe," Ness offered.

Fuel sighed.

"I suppose," he whispered. "I try to keep a smile on at times like this, but it's so _hard._ Nothing's going right. It doesn't feel like anything ever will again."

 _That's a little dramatic,_ Ness thought, but didn't react.

Fuel gave a sigh as he looked like he wanted to say something else, but couldn't find the words to say it.

That was when Bud gave a sigh of his own and said, "Why don't you tell us what's bothering you? It'd at least help get it off your chest."

"Isn't it obvious?" Fuel asked. "For years, you pigmasks have been ruining everything! I can deal with it for three years, maybe five or ten. But I just don't feel like I should keep going when you snout-nosed control freaks are going to be around for the rest of my life!"

"That seems to be a common complaint," Bud said as he looked at Ness. "You and Ness have that in common at least. And that Lucas kid... are they really that bad?"

 _'_ _They',_ Ness thought. _He said 'they', not 'we'. Does he finally realize that he's different from the rest of those mindless drones?_

"Let me put it this way," Fuel said. "At least most murderers and thieves don't bother trying to pretend that they're your friend before stabbing you in the back."

Bud shrugged before he said, "That's because they don't care to be friends with people in the first place. Did someone do that to you?"

"Fassad," Fuel said. "He does it to everyone. Although… I suppose that he tried to kill me _before_ he pretended to be my friend, so I guess that isn't fair."

Bud began poking Ness's shoulder and said, "How long are you going to make me do the talking? You know I'm not good with human emotion."

"Oh, I was totally joking about that," he said. "I can talk if you want."

"Considering that you seem to understand emotion more than I do, I would prefer it if you did," Bud answered.

 _Everyone seems bitter today,_ Ness thought. _Not that I can really blame anyone… except for Fassad. I'll blame him in a heartbeat if something goes wrong._

"Fuel," Ness said. "Would you mind extrapolating?"

Fuel blinked.

"What?" he asked.

"What do you mean when you say that Fassad tried to kill you, and what does that indicate about the way that they operate as a whole?" Ness asked.

Fuel smirked.

"I was messing with you," he said. "I know what extrapolate means… it's just that most kids don't use that word. The pigmasks set fire to the woods two years ago, nearly killing me in my house. They also created chimeras, one of which killed both Hinawa and Claus. It wasn't just Fassad, really. All of them were involved."

"Hinawa?" Ness asked.

"Lucas' mother," Fuel explained. "So _that_ is why I hate pigmasks."

"Did you know that, Bud?" Ness asked.

"..." Bud looked speechless for a second before his eyes widen. "Hi… na… wa…? …" He quickly shook his head. "... I… don't have any data on Hinawa or Claus…"

 _Oh my,_ Ness thought. _I wasn't sure before, but he definitely has a strange connection with Lucas' family. And judging by the way that his face looks quite similar to Lucas'..._

"No data… but feelings, perhaps?" Ness thought. "Those names seem to mean a lot to you. Why could that possibly be?"

Fuel's eyes narrowed.

"You say that like you know why," he said.

 _Know?_ Ness thought. _Of course not! Have an idea? ...Definitely._

"... I shouldn't… I have no information on them…" Bud frowned, looking confused. "They mean nothing to me…" He blinked before he said, "... That… is my first lie… they do mean something but not anything I can comprehend. I think my glitch is getting worse."

"Bud," Ness said, trying to push him a little more. "What do you know about Hinawa? What do you know about Claus?"

Fuel was looking at Ness in confusion, "Why are you questioning him about this?"

"I don't know anything about them, Ness," Bud answered. "I don't… at least… I shouldn't…"

"But you do," Ness said, staring into Bud's deep, green visible eye and finding a glimmer of light. "Don't you?"

"What's going on?" Fuel asked. "I am completely lost. How could this kid know Hinawa or... Claus..." Fuel's eyes widened as he stared at Bud.

"... Where is Hinawa's grave?" Bud suddenly asked Fuel.

"North of here," he said. "Do you want me to take you there?"

"You're offering to take me there?" Bud asked. "... Yes please. I… I want to see her grave."

Fuel looked at Ness. His eyes seemed to ask: "Is this kid Claus?"

Ness nodded.

Fuel blinked, and then started walking into Tazmily's central square. Ness and Bud followed behind.

At this point, Fassad had resumed speaking to the townspeople. Ness was surprised at how calm he looked, though he didn't seem to notice them as they were passing by. Fuel muttered something as he passed by, although Ness couldn't tell what he said. Before long, Fuel led them to a single grave placed at the top of a cliff. Looking downwards, Ness could see a natural landscape unscarred by industrialism.

"Nice place," he whispered.

There were a lot of sunflowers around the grave. Bud was looking at the tombstone and slowly approached it.

"... Hinawa…" He read on the tombstone. "... What… what is this… choking feeling in my chest…?"

"Grief," Ness said. "It's what we feel when we lose something important to us."

"What? … But… why am I… feeling that? I don't have any…" Bud stopped when he felt something wet trickled down his cheek. "... I… I have… tears as well…?"

Fuel looked at Ness, mouthing "Oh my stars."

"It's natural to feel grief," Ness said. "It's natural to cry. Trust me, you'll feel a lot better after you're finished. Tears are cathartic that way."

 _"_ _... Hear… hear… me…"_ A soft voice spoke through Ness's head.

"Paula?" Ness asked. _No wait… this is different._ "Is there another person talking to me?"

Fuel raised an eyebrow.

"I'm receiving a telepathic message," Ness explained. "At least, I think so. I might be going insane."

Fuel chuckled.

"I'd still take you insane over any other pigmask," he said.

 _"_ _You… you saved… my son…?"_ The voice said.

Bud was staring at the tombstone. "... I hear it too… it sounds like a voice from long ago…"

 _"_ _Claus… please listen… don't… don't be Porky's… robot… please… you're not… a robot…"_

"... Claus…?" Bud frowned in confusion. "Who's... Claus?"

"Haven't figured it out?" Ness asked. " _You're_ Claus, buddy."

"... No… that's impossible. Claus is dead, just like Flint and Fuel had said. He's been dead for two years, and he's a boy like Lucas, right? I'm not…" Bud denied.

 _"_ _You… and Lucas… are brothers. You're… my son… Claus,"_ The voice spoke up.

"There's a way to find out for sure," Ness said.

"There is…?" Bud looked at him before frowning more. "I… I don't think there's any proof…"

"Yes there is," Ness said with a nod. "That's why you need to take your mask off. If you're Claus, Fuel will recognize you."

"Mask? … You mean my helmet?" Bud reached for the helmet that had concealed his upper face. "I… shouldn't… Master Porky told me to keep it on during a mission at all times."

 _"_ _You aren't Porky's robot, you're my son, Claus!"_ The voice spoke up louder.

"Do you really want to deny Hinawa's ghost?" Ness asked. "Porky will never know if you do take off your helmet."

Bud sighed before he said, "... Master Porky is going to be very angry. But fine, I will prove to you I'm not this Claus person you keep claiming I am." He grabbed the edges of his helmet and took it off, revealing his full face, his synthetic red eye and his ginger hair.

"My stars…" Fuel whispered, his eyes widening in shock. "By the Dark Dragon! _Claus_! We all thought that you were dead!"

"It seems," Ness said, "That Porky didn't want you to take off your helmet because he didn't want the world to see who you truly are."

Bud, or rather Claus, looked at Fuel with a shocked expression. "What? N-no… I can't be Claus! I was made in the chimera lab! I _can't_ be someone else!"

"You were lied to," Ness said, offering a sympathetic smile. "All along, you _were_ a human, just like us."

"H-h-how can you be so sure? Just because I happen to look like Claus? Well I'm not! I'm _not_!"

Claus suddenly activated his jetwings and took off into the sky without warning, not realizing he left his helmet on the ground behind. Before long, he was just another speck in the sky.

"Bud?" Ness asked. "Bud? Ah… there goes my ride."

"W-why did he just take off like that?" Fuel asked, seeming surprised and sad at Claus's sudden departure.

"Does it look like I know?" Ness asked. "I guess that I do know, actually. He's freaked out because he thought that he was a robot all along."

"So… he's terrified that everything he knew was a lie and that he's not who he thought he was?" Fuel asked as he began connecting the dots. "Hmm… I guess I'd probably freak out too if I thought the sky was blue my whole life and it turned out to be purple instead."

Ness sighed.

"Now I have nowhere to go…" he said. "Wait, that's _wonderful!_ I can't get back to base, so I have an excuse to linger here for as long as I can pretend that I'm not hiding. But… that doesn't really matter, does it? I fear what Claus will do now that he's alone."

"He flew in the direction of the Clayman Factory… maybe he's hoping someone over there would help confirm his identity?" Fuel suggested before picking up his helmet.

"I don't know if he wants confirmation on his identity," Ness said. "After all, Flint does live in this town. Claus could just go to him instead. Also, who's to say that he's going to stay on course? He could end up anywhere."

"Maybe he just needs some time alone. After all if his entire life was a lie I'd imagine he'd want some time to think," Fuel said. "Or you could try going after him. Doesn't that fancy Pigmask backpack you're wearing also have wings?"

"Nope," Ness answered. "Porky didn't want me to fly away on my own, although he didn't need to bother. I won't ever feel safe while he still has power over my family."

"So what should you do then?" Fuel asked.

 _"_ _Please… help… my family… please…"_ Hinawa's ghost pleaded with Ness.

"Sorry, ghost spirit calling," Ness said to Fuel. "Err… it's Hinawa, right?"

 _"_ _... Yes… I am Hinawa… you… you seem similar to Ninten,"_ She answered.

"Actually, we're quite different people," Ness said. "Do you have clairvoyant powers? Do you know where Claus went?" _If it's back to the pigmask base to get brainwashed, I swear that I'll do something mildly irritating!_

 _"_ _Claus has… changed a lot… but he's still Claus… somewhere deep down inside. He… he always wanted to run off… on his own when… he gets upset… or talk to Lucas about it. He's always been… that way…"_ Hinawa said. Ness could tell she was having trouble talking to him as a spirit.

"So do you think that he's searching for Lucas?" Ness asked. _Since that's his job, it's a pretty safe bet…_

 _"_ _It's possible… Claus and Lucas… always have a sense… on each other. They are twins after all… and they… were usually very close… I can imagine… Claus is subconsciously… looking for that lost twin right now…"_

 _I think that telepathy PSI plays a bigger role than twin power in his power to locate Lucas,_ Ness thought.

"Uh… that still doesn't help me much," Ness said. "Do you know where he _is?_ "

Ness could almost hear Hinawa chuckling in his head. _"You just… remind me so much… of the old Claus… Try heading to the Clayman Factory. I've been watching… him since… they turned him into… a chimera… he usually goes there… when he wants to be alone. Because… it's a good place… to be alone."_

"All right," Ness said. "It's not like I have anything important to do." He turned back to Fuel. "Hey, do you mind if I take some food and water? I'm going after Claus, and I need rations if I want to keep a steady pace."

"Oh right. Here." Fuel handed him a basket full of bread and a couple of water bottles. "... I may have snuck out a few of these while Angie wasn't looking."

Ness shot Fuel a teasing smile and slipped them into his backpack.

"Thanks, Fuel," he said. "So I go up to the train station and through the tunnel, right?"

"Yeah, that is the quickest way to get to the factory." Fuel said with a nod.

"I guess I'll be on my way then," Ness said, turning around. "Do you want to come with me?"

"... I would like to, especially since I know Claus is still alive," Fuel said before sighing. "But I'd only get in the way. I'm not much of a fighter and I think you'd be able to find him faster without the extra baggage."

Ness smiled.

"Unfortunately, I think that you're right," he said. "You haven't been trained to fight, which is obviously fine. It only makes sense that you should leave the combat missions to me. With the amount of chimeras around, I don't think that you'd feel comfortable. So… goodbye, I guess, and best of luck at _whatever_ you decide to do. I'm rooting for you, Fuel."

"Oh Ness… do you want to take this with you?" Fuel asked, showing him Claus's helmet.

"...No," Ness said. "The helmet masks him and obscures his identity. It hides his face in the dark. When Claus took off that mask, he revealed himself to the world. He no longer has a reason to hide his face." Ness started walking away. "He no longer has a reason to hide who he is."

"Heh, wow Ness, you can be so dramatic." Fuel chuckled as he watched Ness walk away.

Ness halted, turning back.

"I can," he admitted with an easygoing smile. "But what time is better than now to be dramatic than now? Ships sail the skies, animals reconfigure body parts, and the hand of Porky's empire reaches out towards untouched lands. This world is crazy, Fuel." Ness' eyes locked with Fuel's. "And crazy worlds call for crazy people like us."


	15. Chapter 15: Reunion

**DarkFoxKit: Hello readers. Question of the day; do you have a pet? If so, how do you feel when they're not feeling well and you can't afford to take them to the vet?**

 **Connor: Uh… I don't know about the readers, but I got nothing for that. :( Is this… something that's happening to you?**

 **DarkFoxKit: It happened during this and last week… but my cat died this morning. It really pained me to have to move her body outside when I found her dead. I tried finding anything, any way to save her without having to go to a vet but… well you know how that turned out.**

 **Connor: Geez, that's rough. D: I guess that all I can say is that I'm sorry… well, shall we answer the reviews, or do you have anything else to say?**

 **DarkFoxKit: No… at least, not anything favorable to the high charging vets. We'll get to the reviews now.**

 **Shimo no ko:** **Connor:** Ah, glad to see you excited! :) And thanks! I considered that chapter one of our stronger ones, so I'm glad that you agree! And overbearing? ...No, that thought hasn't even crossed my mind. Getting excited about something isn't the same as trying to force someone onto a certain path. And hey, there's nothing wrong with excitement! :)

 **A Fan:**

 **DarkFoxKit:** Someone really likes Chrono Trigger. ^^' Well since Connor is controlling Ness, it's no surprise that he likes to outlogic people. XP As for Bud, he wasn't exactly on either side of the argument, rather he is just stating what he believes are facts. He's human but also a robot machine designed to take orders, which includes fighting. I think Connor would appreciate the Ness puns a lot more here. XD

 **Connor:** I thought of good games that were out in 1996 when Ness' world is set, and Chrono Trigger was the first one to come to mind. :) And it's a pity that I can't out-logic people in real life. And yes, effisiensy is the right way to spel it. :D And hey, feel free to talk about whatever. And thanks for the advice, but the question with Ceres was whether or not I should write further ahead to avoid stuff like that happening in the next installment. And most of the things wrong with Ceres are related to plot (the two big antagonists not appearing until ⅔ of the way through), so there's not a whole lot that I could do at this point. *shrugs*

 **Ender2142:**

 **DarkFoxKit:** No, PSI Rockin doesn't damage your allies in EarthBound, if it did then I doubt anyone would use PSI Rockin once you got a party member, what Ness did was intentional to keep Bud distracted so Ninten and the others could get away. Gotta feel for poor Bud there, huh? While Lucas is a lot more cynical in this story, I personally favor the more timid and shy Lucas.

 **Connor:** Woooooow, Fox doesn't like my Lucas. D: ...just kidding. ;)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Hey! It's not that I don't like him! It's just the timid and shy Lucas relates to me more on a personal level. ^^'

 **Connor:** That's why I added the "just kidding." :P And thanks! Ness is way funnier than I am, honestly (I'm really not a funny person haha). And PSI Rockin doesn't hit your allies, but I always imagined that it would have if they had stood in the way, since hexagons cover the whole screen. That's just my interpretation, though. See you! :)

 **crabbyTomato:**

 **DarkFoxKit:** The 'kitty'? … My caaaaat! *slaps myself* Ahem! … Well anyways… The whole Bud's identity being revealed kinda came unexpectedly for the both of us. ^^' I mean we weren't planning on Claus being revealed yet, but it just sort of happened and we decided to just run with it. Fassad does kinda strike me as a childish temper tantrum kind of guy, getting angry and taking out his anger on poor Salsa or on the Pigmasks. Plus it probably doesn't help that his boss is Porky. Well let's see what we have in store for our little carrot sunflower. ;)

 **Connor:** Aww… we're both sorry about your cat, Fox. D: Yeah, Ness even cracks me up. xD I wonder if that's egotistical of me. ._. And Ness isn't really going to do anything with Fassad's history. That's what happens when we don't really plan out the story (and it's one of those things that I would edit out if I were to try and publish this). And yeah, Chrono Trigger is super cool. The part that I actually like best about it is how the part of most RPGs that's the most boring (second half right up to the climax) is the most interesting part of Chrono trigger. Zeal is awesome, and the game kinda ending with a bunch of sidequests keeps the tempo moving nicely. :) But yeah, the soundtrack is awesome.

 **Commander Bud:**

 **DarkFoxKit:** … Wow, never thought one of my characters would come out and haunt me. ^^' But is it bad that I feel extremely flattered to see this? And anyways… it seems you're starting to have… feelings about this chapter too, 'Commander Bud', I wonder why that is. Hi Porky! You seem to be enjoying yourself too. *whispers to Connor* Make sure he doesn't have some kind of tracking device on us.

 **Connor:** I never thought that one of the characters that I half control (Porky) would haunt me either. Er… not to imply that _I'm_ controlling you, Porky… I'm sure that you have free will and all that. Heh. Heh. Please don't hurt me. D:

*...I think we're good, Fox*

 **PK Lovergirl:** **Connor:** You're about to find out! :D

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:**

 **DarkFoxKit:** What can I say? You work with Connor, you're bound to get into philosophy. XD But that's not a bad thing, it's pretty good to have thought provoking things in a story. I wonder myself if Claus is going to die by the end of the story, and I'm writing it! Well half writing it!

 **Connor:** Well, Ceres isn't that philosophical. Actually, it kinda is. ._. OH MY GOD YOU'RE RIGHT! ...Why does this surprise me? xD

 **SickofTruth** **: Connor:** Well, there are two possible explanations for this:

1\. Lucas is so cloistered that he doesn't really know about them

2\. Ness talks about doctors but they're actually not as common as _he_ believes.

...What? You still think that I made a mistake? Geez, you don't trust me at all, do you?

...Also, you're right.

 **DarkFoxKit:** I just thought Lucas himself never saw a doctor before as they are new to Tazmily and he never had to go to one. Oooh, looks like it's time to start the chapter! Get some popcorn or whatever snacks you like to eat while reading, and enjoy! :D

* * *

The Commander of the Pigmask army flew across the island, not sure where to go. He just knew he needed to be alone. He was trying to convince himself that what Ness and Fuel said back there to him, that he was someone else named Claus, wasn't true. It was impossible after all; he had always been the Master's toy, his little monster robot. The Commander tried to chant in his head that it wasn't true, that he wasn't a human at all, it was all lies.

What scared the Commander right now was that he was being emotional. He knew he was letting his emotions run; he was disobeying a direct order from Master Porky himself by leaving Ness behind, and yet he was doing nothing about it. He wasn't supposed to have emotions, yet he does. The glitch had gotten out of control.

Feeling like he was malfunctioning because of this glitch, the Commander quickly landed in the forest near the ruined Clayman Factory. It was always a good place to be alone due to wild chimeras, so no person would dare approach this place and the chimeras generally leaves him alone.

The Commander stumbled, feeling the shock of hitting the ground.

 _Sloppy,_ he told himself. _If Master Porky saw me land like that, he would punish me…_

The Commander had always told himself that he possessed no emotions, but he couldn't help but wonder if he could feel fear. What else could it be that caused his stomach to toss and turn?

 _They tell me that I can't feel,_ he thought, _Yet they condition me to be afraid._

The Commander snarled, blocking off all thoughts. Thinking was dangerous. If he started thinking, then he would start questioning. And what would he do once he found a question that he couldn't answer?

 _Ness always tried to get me to think,_ The Commander realized. _That's it. He wanted me to betray Master Porky. I won't fall into his trap!_

Yet the distressed Commander couldn't rid himself of the feeling that things were not that simple. He stumbled through the woods, not caring about where he was going. He nearly ran into multiple trees.

 _"_ _You idiot!"_ he heard in Fassad's voice. " _You can't do anything right!"_

 _...I'm trying,_ he thought weakly.

 _"_ _You're not Porky's robot, you're my son, Claus!"_ He remembered hearing that woman's voice say to him.

After a few minutes, a memory started to surface from the depths of his mind. He tried to push it back, but the memory let him know that it was going to escape no matter how much he resisted. Eventually, the Commander succumbed to the attack from his own mind.

* * *

 **Setting: Past**

A small boy with ginger colored hair, wearing a yellow and teal striped shirt ran around right outside of a house. He felt free and excited, but also impatient since someone he's waiting for is still asleep in bed.

"Come on… why does he have to sleep in again?" The boy grumbled to himself. He tapped his foot for a few seconds before going into the house.

"Lucas! Will you hurry and wake up? You're burning daylight as you waste away in your bed all morning!" He all but shouted at a bed with someone sleeping on it.

In the bed lay a similar looking boy with blond hair. He sat up straight in his bed and shot the ginger a glare.

"Claus!" he exclaimed. "If you have to wake me up, would you mind _not shouting in my ear?_ "

The boy called Claus just gave a snicker, "Sure, if you could ever wake up before the sun is high in the sky. You're such a night owl, I told you to go to bed before dawn Lucas, but you just had to stay up and help Mom sew up your clothes."

"And your way is better?" Lucas asked. "Waking everyone up at the crack of dawn with your banshee's wail? We played all day yesterday, Claus. I'm going back to sleep."

"It's not the crack of dawn, it's basically almost afternoon already!" Claus whined as he yanked the covers off Lucas. "Besides, you promised Fuel that we'd go over and play with him in the forest today, remember? And you're already sleeping in too long!"

" _I_ did not promise anything," Lucas replied. "You asked me my opinion and didn't even wait for a response." His face softened a bit. "I want to stay mad at you, but it's so hard to glare at that stupid grin of yours. Just give me a couple minutes to get dressed, all right?"

"Sure, just don't take two hours to perfect your hair again. It's going to get messed up once we jump into the water anyways," Claus said with a grin.

"Mmph," Lucas muttered, looking like he wanted to snap but didn't want to give Claus the satisfaction of provoking a response.

While Lucas went to go get himself ready, Claus was waiting near the door. Then Hinawa came walking in with a basket in her hands.

"Mom?" Claus looked at her.

"Claus, honey, if you and Lucas are going out into the woods to play with Fuel, I thought I'd pack you some snacks," Hinawa said. "I don't want you boys starving yourselves out there because you forgot to pack something to eat."

"Mooooom, we'll be fine! There's lots of stuff we can eat out in the forest anyways," Claus pouted at his mother.

"Regardless, I don't want you boys taste testing on any poisonous plants because you got too hungry," Hinawa said sternly.

"... Did Lucas help make those last night with you, Mom?" Claus asked.

"Yes, of course. Your brother wanted me to teach him how to cook and make food one day, he's always such a big help around the house," Hinawa chuckled.

"Of course he is, he's such a girl sometimes." Claus rolled his eyes.

"Now Claus, just because Lucas likes helping me with chores doesn't mean he's like a girl. He's just not as big on outdoor activity like you are," Hinawa said.

"I can't imagine why not, but I guess that's just Lucas being Lucas," Claus said.

"Yes, and there's nothing wrong with that," Hinawa said. "Have fun out there, okay? ...Not that you ever have problems with that. Make sure not to push Lucas into doing something that he doesn't want to, alright?"

"Oh come on Mom, when did I ever push Lucas into doing something he doesn't want?" Claus asked innocently.

"Very funny, Claus," she said with a smile. "We all know what happens when you get an idea into that head of yours. You just can't let go!"

At that point, Claus heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Lucas.

"See, that wasn't long," Lucas said with a yawn. "Are you ready to head out?"

"About time!" Claus smiled as he took the basket from Hinawa. "Mom even prepared snacks for us… and I guess you did too."

"Yeah, yeah, I do things that you don't and you're judging me for it," Lucas said, rolling his eyes. "I've heard this one before."

Claus paused, in truth he's not really belittling Lucas for doing these things, he's rather jealous that his brother would. He felt like their mother favors him more because of his love for these chores he does with her, but of course he would never admit that. "... Yeah. Anyways, let's get going, Fuel's waiting!"

* * *

 **Setting: Present**

The Commander stood in the forest, clutching his head.

 _No…_ he thought. _That's… not me. It can't be me._

 _Is it me?_

Ness claimed that he was Claus, but the Commander couldn't just _believe_ that. After all, he had been created to serve Master Porky. Everybody said so. The prospect of having a real life terrified him. It meant that he had something to lose.

 _It's all a lie, it has to be… Ness probably did something to my mind and making me think I had a life. That's got to be it, he does seem desperate enough to do something like that to get away from Master Porky. I… I can't let this beat me, I have to remember who I really am, what I was taught and how I was trained._

The Commander shut his eyes as he tried to squish down that fake memory that invaded his mind and to replace it with a memory he knew had actually happened.

* * *

 **Setting: Past**

The Commander woke up in a lab, seeing the faces of many scientists. Dr. Andonuts stood in the middle. He repeatedly tested and checked his newest experiment to make sure that it was working properly.

"Are you sure it's working?" Someone asked the doctor as he was writing something down.

"Yes, he's in perfection condition. His body is that of human, now enhanced with machinery. This is the first human chimera we've succeeded with, and a fine creation at that," Dr. Andonuts said with pride.

The newest chimera was looking around, with no memory or emotion, all it could do was just sit there and stare while the people around him continued to talk on.

"Memories and emotions have all been stripped, just like Master Porky wanted," Another scientist said, looking at a monitor. "It's basically just a hollow meat puppet now."

 _Who are these beings near me? They seem… so alive… so active…_ The Commander thought to himself as he just stared on at them.

"I wonder what it's thinking," one of the scientists said. "Unlike a robot, its mind can still wander."

The main scientist, Dr. Andonuts himself, walked directly in front of him. The Commander's eyes followed him.

"Can you speak?" Dr. Andonuts asked him.

The Commander didn't seem to understand what he asked of him, he just kept staring on.

"Does it… work?" One of the scientists asked.

He felt some of them poking at him, as if hoping to provoke some kind of reaction out of him.

 _What are they doing? Why are they touching me so much? Did they want me to do something?_

"He was just stripped of all his memory and emotion, it's likely that his mind had gone into shock," Dr. Andonuts said, and the only one that had called him a 'he' instead of an 'it'.

"Ah, that makes sense," a scientist said. "Minds are such… fragile things. You twist one part of it, and it can alter fundamental parts of our identity. This one shows that idea quite acutely, I must admit."

"So what should we do with it now?" Another scientist asked.

"Well we-" Dr. Andonuts began to say, but was interrupted when someone dressed in a white pig-like outfit with a cape suddenly came through the door.

The Commander lifelessly looked up to see this strange creature shoving through the other people with white coats and coming towards him.

"I'm taking you with me," the pig person said. "Come along, now."

"W-wait, we haven't tested him yet!" Dr. Andonuts quickly said. "We don't know if he's stable enough to leave the lab yet!"

"I have orders from Fassad," the pig person said. "If you have qualms with that, fight him. I'm just the messenger."

The Commander just remember being grabbed by the pig person and carried out of the lab. He vaguely remembered seeing he was wearing tattered clothing but the rest was a blur. Later, he would only remember waking up in a pink house full of bananas.

 _Where… where am I…? Those people… are they… gone? Am I supposed to be here…?_ He looked around, sitting on the floor, not knowing what to do other than sit there and wait for something.

"Very good, pigmask," he heard someone say. "You may leave now."

After the pig person left, the Commander found himself staring face to face with another man.

"Dr. Andonuts really did his job well," the person commented. "My name is Fassad. However, you don't have a name. You're just a piece of junk. But like they say, one man's junk is another man's treasure. Master Porky has claimed you for his own, and you will serve him until you die. Do you understand?"

The Commander didn't respond. He didn't know what to say. After a second, he felt a flash of pain as electrical surges rushed through his body. He lay on the floor, panting heavily.

"I said _do you understand?_ " Fassad hissed.

The Commander looked back at the man, what did he just do to him? His eyes widen when he saw how annoyed he looked, and that he may do it again to him if he didn't find a way to respond soon.

"I… I under...s-stand," He spoke out, but the sound that came from his throat sounded rather strained.

"I'll let that pass," Fassad said, "But next time, speak loud and clear, all right?"

"I… I w-will…" The Commander said.

Now that he had figured out he could communicate with these beings, he decided to try asking a question, "S-so… w-what… am I…?"

Fassad cocked his head in thought.

"I… guess that I can answer that," he said. "You are a human chimera that was created just a few hours ago. You may have a human's organs, but you aren't the same on the inside. You're just a robot wearing flesh instead of steel."

The Commander didn't understand any of it, he didn't know what a robot was, or what humans were either. "What… are robots… and humans…?"

He registered another jolt of electricity racing through his system, charring what little he had left beneath the surface.

"I guess Andonuts did _too_ good of a job," Fassad muttered, and then narrowed his eyes. "I mean, he didn't do a good enough job. Robots are metal machines that perform simple tasks. Humans are more complicated beings that can experience emotion and desire. Humans control robots. You, despite looking like a human, are really a robot. Remember that!"

"Y-yes…" The Commander quickly said, not wanting to get shocked again. "So I'm… a robot… that looks human…?" he wanted to ask why, but he was scared of being shocked again. "Then… wh-what's my purpose?"

"I already said," Fassad replied. "You were created to serve Master Porky. You'll meet him soon enough, but before then… I have a lot to teach you about this world."

The Commander wanted to shy away from Fassad's sadistic smile, although he couldn't have said why.

* * *

 **Setting: Present**

The Commander nodded to himself, reminding that he was created by Dr. Andonuts and he's nothing more than a robot that just happen to have some human biology.

 _That's right, it's just as Fassad said… I'm just Master Porky's toy, nothing more. Humans control and use me, and as long as I remain useful to them, they will not throw me out like yesterday's Clayman._

The Commander held onto that belief strongly, wanting to fight off any feelings that he had or anyone saying he's a person called Claus.

Yet something still irked him. Dr. Andonuts said that he had been "stripped of his emotions." Though he didn't know what it meant at the time... did that mean… that he possessed emotions in a time before?

 _No,_ he thought. _No… I can't believe that. If I do… then Porky will punish me. Why can't I stop thinking about this?_

He looked down at his hands, seeing one was purely mechanical. _After all, the proof is right here. How can I have an arm that can turn into a cannon if I was human at one point? I couldn't have been. I was synthesized, end of story! I don't care what Ness says, he's a liar, he just wants me to betray Master Porky!_

The Commander stood up and leaned against the tree, shaking his head. _He just wants me to be this Claus person. Well I'm not, I just happen to look like him. Maybe he died and the Pigmasks just used his body to help synthesize me._

Yes, all of his logic made sense. So why did he still feel like something was _wrong?_

Another memory rose, unbidden from the oceanic depths of his mind. The Commander grunted, trying to resist. But just like last time, he might as well have been struggling to keep the Earth from turning. Once loosed from its prison, the memory would not leave him alone.

* * *

 **Setting: Past**

Claus saw the dinosaur-like lizard that stood in front of him and felt rage burning comfortably in his stomach. Claus scanned the area around him, spotting desolate, rocky ground that lead to a cliff. The wind moaned in the distance, making Claus feel alone with the dead.

 _It almost sounds like mom's screaming,_ he thought. _Don't worry, I'll avenge you!_

With a feral cry, Claus ran towards the drago, trying to shut out the images of playfully ramming into one just days earlier. He tried to blink the tears out of his eyes.

 _No crying!_ he scolded himself. _I made Lucas stay behind because he's too fragile. I have to be stronger than this!_

When the boy ran up at the giant mecha dinosaur, he tried to stab it with the knife in his hands, but the knife didn't even come close to peircing its tough hide.

 _It didn't do anything!?_

The mecha dinosaur gave a roar as it lifted its foot to stomp on him. Thankfully, the boy was quick enough to roll out of the way.

 _I-I can't give up now! I didn't hike all this way just to give up! I promised that I would avenge Mom and that's what I'll do!_ Claus ran up at the mecha dinosaur again, trying to stab its gut this time. "This is for Mom, you sorry Drago!"

Claus stabbed the knife into its gut with as much force as his small body could muster, and the knife snapped. It could not pierce the Drago's hide and it broken in two.

"N-no…" Claus looked at the now broken knife in horror.

The Mecha Drago gave a roar as it lunged at the boy, trying to bite him. Claus screamed as he tried to back up, but got his arm caught in its mouth along with the broken knife.

Without really thinking, he shoved his free hand at the Drago's robotic eye and screamed out two words, "PK LOVE!" And blue energy came out of his finger and exploded hexagonally into the Drago's face, causing it to roar and rear back in pain. Claus's bitten arm was covered in blood and he couldn't even move it anymore, but he tried his best to ignore it.

 _I can't stop now… I have to… see this through the end!_

Seeing how that ability those weird people he met earlier gave to him was working against this monster, he decided to do it again. "PK Love!" Another blue energy exploded in a hexagon fashion right at the Mecha Drago's body, hoping to do as much damage as possible. There were scratches showing up on the dinosaur's hide as the power was strong enough to tear through it.

"PK Love!" Claus did it again, but his head was getting dizzy, and he felt sick to his stomach. The boy ignored it as it could just be because the loss of blood from his arm.

The drago roared in pain, lunging at Claus. He managed to dodge the attack by inches.

"PK Love!" he shouted again.

Nothing happened.

 _W-What?_ Claus thought. In the back of his mind, he remembered those weird people telling him that he has limited usage of his powers. _But to only be able to use it three times… talk about a rip-off!_

The drago took a step forward. The wind howled once more in the distance.

 _So desolate…_ Claus thought. _This place is a graveyard! This drago is too robotic to be alive, mother's dead, and I…_

Claus wanted to do something, but he didn't have any weapons left. He wasn't a warrior. He wasn't a psychic.

He was nothing but a ten-year old boy.

In that moment, Claus felt so _small._ He wanted to curl up into a ball and hide from the world. But he couldn't, not now.

 _Forgive me,_ Claus thought.

He started running away.

Adrenaline pushed him to run faster, even though every swing of his arm brought a flash of pain. Claus couldn't think, couldn't feel. He could only put one foot in front of the other. Behind him, he vaguely heard the sounds of the drago following him.

 _I just have to keep running!_ he thought.

Claus tripped over a rock and landed face first on the ground.

 _My shoe!_ he thought. _I lost my shoe!_

He took a look behind him. The drago loomed above, standing impossibly tall.

 _Forget my shoe, I'm going to lose my life!_

The drago raised its foot, preparing to squish Claus. He tried to roll out of the way, but his injured arm got caught under the drago's foot. Claus _screamed,_ unable to comprehend anything other than the pain.

The Drago then moved its foot and looked down at him, it was as if it was hesitating. Claus shut his eyes as he didn't even want to see how bad his arm looked now, and the looming death that will soon claim him.

Finally, he opened his eyes to see the Drago looking at him. Claus was staring back, not sure what it was waiting for. Then they heard some people shouting from the distance, this caused the Drago to give a roar before it swung its tail right at his face. Claus gave a short yelp as that was all he could do before he realized his body was in midair. He could only open one eye as he saw himself falling down from the cliff. Despite death was just seconds away, everything around him slowed down as he numbly began thinking to himself.

 _I'm sorry Mom… I couldn't avenge you after all… I'm sorry Dad… Lucas… I guess... I won't… be coming home today…_ He shut his eye as he hit the ground.

* * *

 **Setting: Present**

The Commander gasped as he fell on his knees and wrapped himself with his arms. _W-wait… I'm not dead…?_

He looked down at himself before remembering that he's the Commander, not the boy called Claus who foolishly went up against a Mecha Drago of all things with a knife and died for it.

 _Oh great, so now this body of his have memories trying to make me doubt myself._ He was getting frustrated.

The Commander walked towards the waterfall, thankful to have some kind of soothing noise as a distraction.

"Hey!" The Commander heard from behind him. "Aren't you that pigmask commander?"

The Commander cringed when he heard that voice behind him, it sounded _too_ familiar and he had wanted to be alone to sort out his jumbled thoughts. He turned around to the person to see it was that blond haired boy Lucas, and Ninten—Ness's look-alike—was behind him as well as that pink haired woman and the thief Fassad wanted the Pigmasks to capture.

"What do you want?" He asked with a frown, though he really should've just attacked them since he was ordered to bring them in. _Or was it that Fassad wanted me to contact him?_ Now he was having trouble remembering the order. But that was soon forgotten when he saw Lucas's shocked face.

" _Claus?_ " Lucas asked in disbelief. "Is that you?"

"Claus? You mean _this_ is the brother you lost two years ago?" Ninten asked, looking surprised himself.

The Commander however was growing tired of being called by that name. "No, I am not Claus! I only look like him, nothing more." He hissed irritably.

"But you look _exactly_ like him…" Lucas protested, wearing a concerned frown.

"Get away from that freak, Lucas!" Kumatora exclaimed. "He nearly killed us, remember?"

"Wait a minute Kumatora, if this is Lucas's brother then we should let him handle this." Duster said calmly to her.

The Commander gave no heeds to them, he kept his eyes on Lucas, "... You haven't changed all that much…" he muttered, before shaking his head. "Well Claus is dead, he was long dead since that Drago killed him. His body was probably used in my construction, nothing more, nothing less."

"But you're still _him!_ " Lucas exclaimed. "...Right?"

"Don't let the fact that I look like your brother deceive you," The Commander hissed. "I was made in a lab and trained to be a robotic slave, that is all I am and that is all I'm _ever_ going to be, is that clear?"

"I…" tears started to come to Lucas' eyes. "All right. If that's how you want to act, then I can't stop you. Are you going to attack us again?"

For a minute, nobody moved or made a sound. The Commander had never hesitated to act before, so why was he hesitating now? He glared as he activated his arm cannon and aimed at them, ready to fire. They all quickly came on guard, waiting for him to strike first.

 _This is my chance… this is my chance to prove I'm still loyal to Master Porky. I can prove I'm not this Claus person everyone keeps claiming I am… All I have to do is fire; they are my enemies… I was ordered to take them in and I must follow it…_

The Commander looked at Lucas's eyes, seeing how sad and broken they were. A brief flash of a much happier and slightly younger Lucas smiled at him.

 _"_ _Claus, please come home soon, okay?"_ The younger Lucas said to him with a smile.

The Commander frowned and tried to power up his PSI Cannon, only to bring the weapon down before backing away from the group. _I… I can't do it… What's happening to me? Is this body rebelling against me?_

"Claus!" Lucas exclaimed, his eyes shining with concern. "Are you… okay?"

"Stop calling me Claus!" The Commander snapped. "All of you are in on this aren't you? You're all in on this with Ness to make me malfunction, is that it? He made this glitch appear in me and made it grow! Now I can't even properly follow orders!"

"I think he's confused," Ninten said softly to Lucas, though the Commander heard him.

"I'm not confused! It's all of your faults that I've become defective!" He snapped angrily.

"Yeah, it's our fault that you're something more than a tool," Kumatora spat. "What could _possibly_ be worse than having a meaningful existence?"

"When my one and only purpose gets taken away from me," The Commander answered her. "I was built to serve Master Porky as long as I was still functional. Now I'm nothing more than yesterday's Clayman like this! I… I have to get to the Chimera Lab, I need to get this fixed right away!"

"Claus!" Lucas exclaimed. "I lost you for so long… please don't leave me now! Please…"

The Commander shook his head as he ran past them. "Just leave me alone!"

He heard them calling out for him- no, they were calling out for 'Claus'. _Claus is dead. He's long gone; stop shouting for someone who's not here!_

He had been running so fast and not looking where he was going that he didn't notice someone was ahead until he crashed into them. _Oh great, now what?_

When he saw the person in front of him, he gave a glare. " _You_!? What do you want with me now, Ness?"

Ness shot him a sad smile.

"This world is so vast, Bud," he said. "Have you ever wondered how so many lives could _possibly_ fit into this little world of ours?"

"I don't care, nor do I have time for more of your life nonsense speak. I'm going to the Chimera Lab to fix what _you_ broke," The Commander hissed at him.

"I'm not surprised that you don't care," Ness said. "In fact, I already knew. _That's_ what's broken about you, Bud. You're so focused on what you think you know that you can't even imagine a world outside your own. That's why you refuse to think about who you are."

"I can't stay here; _they're_ after me," He said. "Now they think I'm Claus and won't stop calling me that. I can't even attack them! I've become a broken toy."

"I understand how you feel, Bud," Ness said. "Your whole life disappeared in front of your eyes, and now people are expecting you to go on, even though you _can't._ Please, talk to me about it. I think that you'll feel better. I can hold the others off."

The Commander just wanted to ignore Ness and keep running straight for the Chimera Lab, it was his only way to be a working tool for Master Porky again, and yet… he found he couldn't just leave Ness alone again, not when he was the only other person he could ever talk to without fear that he's doing something wrong.

"... Tell me Ness, what's it like being yourself?" He suddenly asked him. "Would you want to be anyone else other than you?"

"All the time," Ness said with a sad smile. "I admire so many people. I wish that I were more like them. But… I guess I'm okay, and you are too! Perceived malfunction or no, you're still my friend. I really want what's best for you. Do you believe that, Bud?"

"I don't know what to believe anymore, Ness," He sighed. "You know who you are, right? You're pretty much certain this is who you will be, and it terrifies you that you could also easily be turned into me, is that right? … Well imagine yourself in my shoes then. You're not who you think you are, and everything you once knew was a lie."

"I already did that, Bud," Ness said amiably. "I imagined how you would feel. I hate to say it, but I _knew_ that this is how you would react to my accusations. Yet I still went forward, because you deserve to ask that question to yourself. I know how terrifying it must be, to find yourself in a world that you don't recognize. And while I won't pretend to know what it feels like to be unsure of your identity… I'm here for you, Bud."

"... So you truly think of me as… one of you? Even though I should be a robot with human skin?"

Ness nodded, his eyes shining with joy.

"I don't blame you for not agreeing with me," Ness said. "After all, I'm just one person compared to the army that's named you a robot. But I care, Bud. I care about you. Shouldn't that count for something?"

Before he could answer, they heard footsteps rapidly approaching them. It seems Lucas, Ninten and the others had caught up to him.

"Ness? You're here too? What's the next shocking news then? That it turns out you're my long lost twin brother but you don't remember either?" Ninten said with a hint of humor in there.

"I wish," Ness said with a chuckle. "Having a twin brother would be awesome! I mean, I love my sister, but we don't really like the same stuff. Now, I have a huge favor to ask of you. I don't really deserve to put this on you, but… would you let me talk to Bud alone? He seems nervous around you."

"You attacked Ninten," Lucas pointed out. "I don't trust you."

"I think we can trust him," Ninten said. "He was helping us actually… he's the one who told me I could use Teleport."

Ness shot a guilty look at the Commander.

The Commander frowned at that, "You… _helped_ them get away?"

"Why not?" Ness asked. "Fassad is a maniac. I don't want to cause more collateral damage then we have to."

"Fassad was my mentor. He's the one who taught me what my purpose was." The Commander pointed out.

"And as you know, I don't agree with your purpose," Ness said, "So of course I try to oppose Fassad. Besides, I outrank him, so I didn't really do anything wrong."

"But you're also still a prisoner," The Commander said. "You're not to be listened to if you start rebelling…" Then he looked over at Lucas before he turned back to Ness, "There's… something about Lucas… that makes it hard for me to attack them."

Ness nodded sympathetically.

"Well, there's probably a reason," he said. "Maybe you _shouldn't_ attack them. My mom always taught me to listen to my body. When it doesn't want to do something on a moral level… perhaps we should back off."

"... W-we should… we should probably get back to base then… we've kept Po- Master Porky waiting long enough…"

"Yeah," Ness said. "He'll probably get scary if we make him wait much longer." He turned back to the others. "Goodbye, Ninten, Lucas. And… I'm sorry."

"You're leaving?" Ninten frowned. "But… what about…?" he looked at Lucas and at the Commander in worry.

"That's why I'm sorry," Ness whispered. "You've heard how uncomfortable he feels. If I push him any further…"

The Commander frowned, something in him really didn't want to return back to base; he felt like he should stay with them. _No! I can't think like that!_

"We should go…" The Commander said. "I… you…" He noticed the sad look on Lucas's face. "Why do you look so sad?"

"Because I finally found my brother," Lucas whispered, "And I have so much to say, but you're leaving."

"... But I'm not your brother…" The Commander said softly.

Suddenly shadows flew over them, and the familiar tune began playing. The Commander's eyes shot open in shock and fear as he looked up at the sky. "The Porkship…?"

"Why here?" Ness asked nobody in particular. "...We should hide."

"Y-yeah, that's a good idea." Ninten agreed.

"But they're on our side Ness, why should we hide?" The Commander asked.

"No time to talk," Ness muttered. "We should split up so that it doesn't look like we're affiliated. So long as we stand under a leafy tree, they shouldn't be able to see us from their ship."

"Come on!" Duster pulled Kumatora, who looked like she was about to protest to hiding.

Ninten took Lucas' arm and pulled him with him as they hurried into the trees. "Hurry Lucas!"

"Trying," Lucas muttered.

"We probably want to stay out of sight," Ness whispered to the Commander. "If they see us here, they may wonder what we're doing."

"Hide? From the Pigmasks? B-but I never-" The Commander began to protest before Ness grabbed his organic arm and began pulling him. "W-wait, I-I shouldn't hide from them!"

"So do you want to explain to them why you're here?" Ness asked.

"Why would it matter?" The Commander frowned as he was dragged into the trees.

"Because it's kind of an awkward explanation!"

The Porkship flew around the area before it landed on top of the destroyed factory. A door opened and let down stairs for Pigmasks to come out of it.

"So are you hiding or not?" Ness asked.

"I can't believe I'm hiding from my own men, this is just _outrageous_. Fassad and Master Porky are gonna kill me for sure," The Commander muttered to himself as he was forced into a bush.

Fassad came out of the Porkship along with the Pigmasks. The Commander was rather surprised to see him there, and he quickly grew silent and still. He couldn't see Ness or the others, but he hope they were quiet and still too. _Wait, why would I care?_

"I'll have to remember to thank Master Porky," Fassad said, looking in the Commander's direction with a sadistic smile. "That tracking device that we put on the Commander proved quite useful. And the fact that it picks up on all of the conversations that he makes… what a wonderful idea, wouldn't you say?"

 _A tracking device?_ For some reason this caused a bubbling feeling in his chest, and something in him was pounding. He tried to get it to stop since he feared it would lead his mentor over to him and the others.

"Fassad sir, I don't understand, why are we looking for the Commander?" A Pigmask Captain asked.

"Oh, but we've already found him," Fassad said. "He's in that bush right there. And the reason… let's just say that listening to his conversations with Ness lead to some interesting revelations. _Treasonous_ revelations."

"Treason? The Commander? That's not possible!" The other Pigmasks began oinking in unease.

 _Treason? I-I'm not a traitor!_ The Commander himself was shocked at this. _How could he said that I'm a traitor? I did nothing to prove I'm a traitor!_

"I didn't think so, either," Fassad said. "But I heard him collaborating with the outlaws just minutes ago. Apparently, he couldn't bring himself to follow orders. He's malfunctioning, and we all know what to do with malfunctioning robots. And while we're at it… we should capture the criminals. They should be hiding nearby."

"That's right… he's a mechanical chimera…" The Pigmasks said as they nodded.

If the Commander had a human heart, he's sure he would feel it sinking right now. _I'm a danger to everyone… I can't let him find me… I'd easily expose Ness, Lucas and… ugh! I have to do something!_

"So where are the Commander and the criminals sir?" The Pigmask Captain asked.

Fassad slapped his forehead.

"I already told you," he said. "He's in that bush, _right freaking there!"_

"Which bush, sir?" They asked.

The Commander quickly began crawling further into the forest. He figured if Fassad can track him down, he might as well try his best to lead him away from the others and face him alone.

"...How about I just lead you there?" Fassad asked. "Is that enough for your peanut-sized brains to handle?"

"Y-yes sir!"

The Commander stayed low as he crawled into another bush, not realizing Lucas was hiding in this one. "Lucas? You gotta move," He whispered urgently.

Lucas nodded and started crawling away. The Commander tried to sneak further, but Fassad's footsteps kept coming closer. After a while, Fassad reached into the bush where the Commander was hiding and yanked him to his feet, wearing a triumphant smile.

"Found you," he cackled, and the Commander could have sworn that he felt that "disgust" emotion that humans sometimes experienced.


	16. Chapter 16: Separation

**Connor: *Reads through the chapter furiously to get an idea of what happens next* Well, I apologize for the cliffhanger last time. It** ** _was_** **fun, though. :P**

 **DarkFoxKit: Hee, hee, hee, we're good with cliffhangers. :3 Oh and today's my dad's birthday!**

 **Connor: Happy birthday to him! :) And I just checked; there's another cliffhanger at the end of this chapter. :D It's not as big, though. And something else… there's something in here that seems like a shameless plot device to stir things up, but we're addressing that in a later chapter. Wow, I don't make much sense, do I? xD I just don't want to give it away. But if you find a certain plot device in this chapter a little convenient… let's just say that we have more planned for it. :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: And this would be a lot easier if it weren't for the big connection problem my computer's been having. -_-' Anyways, let's get to the reviews now, shall we?**

 **Connor: Yeah! And Merry Christmas, everyone! :) ...I mean, it's in two days, but this is the last time that TD is going to be updated until then.**

 **Shimo no ko:** **Connor:** Yeah, Fox did most of those parts (since I was Fassad) and it really cracked me up. xD And yeah, can you imagine how it would feel to be Lucas at this point in the story? I would argue that Ness is pretty fast and Claus was probably out of it for a while… so his perception of time isn't exactly normal. Yes, Fassad does embody that word quite well, doesn't he? xD Thanks! :)

 **A Fan:** **  
DarkFoxKit:** At least my cat doesn't have to suffer anymore. And I know how food can get caught up in your keyboard, sometimes it gets to the point where you have to mash a button for it to work anymore. I've read a few chapters of 'This Game Called Life' before… it was… uh… different than what I was expecting. ^^' Although if you're talking about Ness, Connor does his character. Well I apologize if you felt the last sentences in the first flashback was insulting. Fassad may or may not have been an evil character. He's a big jerk, yeah, but there was a mouse outside of his house that said he was pretty nice even though we never saw that side of him. Cut Claus some slack, the boy is confused as it is already.

 **Connor:** And remember that Claus didn't know that the pigmasks had a tracking device on him. From his perspective, there's no reason why they shouldn't trust him since he's just a human chimera. :)

 **crabbyTomato:** **Connor:** Well, you couldn't have known. :( I'm sure that Fox doesn't hold it against you. Haha, I like that comparison. xD Speaking of Santa… Christmas in two days. :) Yeah, I guess we just didn't think of mentioning Claus' feistiness. Would have been a nice touch. *shrugs* I know; Lucas is such a tragic character in M3… and in this story, I guess. :( Heh, I feel that. I sometimes laugh at my own writing when I'm editing, which makes me feel super weird because I don't want it to seem like I'm egotistical and that I find myself hilarious… because I don't. ._. Thanks! :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Thanks for your sympathy!

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** Well… Claus doesn't see himself as 'Claus', so he rather stick with 'Bud' or just 'Commander'. ^^' Ness knows this, that's why he still called him Bud. Although I did start writing Claus's battle with the Mecha Drago, I think Connor here got a little too invested with it. XD And well, Bud trusts Ness more than Lucas right now, as sad as that is.

 **Connor:** I tried to play Lucas' personality off of the fact that Bud trusts Ness more than him later in the story, but I don't know how well that worked. xD Oops, I guess I just said that Lucas survives for at least a little while, huh? ...Screw it, I'm not deleting this (unless Fox makes me). :D

 **PSIBoy: C** **onnor:** I know; I don't know how I would react in Claus' situation. It's times like these where I wish that I was a professional writer so that I could better describe _exactly_ how he feels. Oh yeah, Wind Waker Ganondorf is fascinating and not always outright cruel. It seems like the problem with him is that he just doesn't deal well with change and gets caught up with how things _should_ be (I think that he wants to create a harsher world more like the Gerudo Desert that he lived in because he thinks it's better). Well, heartbreaking is a victory for us. :) And we're a little more than halfway done… it might only be about 10 more chapters though. I think that they get longer. See you! :)

 **Ender2142:**

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yeah, I'm sure writing Lucas as a bitter mess is more fun to do. Although I wouldn't know since I don't write him. ^^' I think just about everyone who reviewed so far hates Fassad a lot more after this chapter. I'm pretty good with writing sympathetic characters, at least I like to think so. And as for the Porky suspicions… well… I won't say anything to that.

 **Jlk** **: Connor:** You're welcome, whatever it is. :) (I assume it's either writing a story that doesn't completely suck or having Claus return to his senses somewhat)

 **Orangflight of ShadowClan:** **Connor:** Hey, there's no shame in taking a break! :) I always tell myself that I'm going to take a break from writing, but it doesn't really end up happening. There's always something waiting to be written, you know? And thanks for voting! :) I think that I'm going to do somewhat of a mix with Ceres… I'm going to write further ahead than normal, but not write the whole thing out. I know! I feel so bad for Claus, but even I'm a little frustrated with him. xD Well, I'm sorry that we murdered you. :( Well, there's definitely a danger to flashbacks. On the one hand, they give the reader a better picture of what happened, but on the other hand they take up space that could be used for other exciting stuff. It's our job to find a balance. :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** I'll be okay… it's a shame my cat had to go, but she was only with us for a year. That's a shame, she was really young too. Anyways… Lucas and company finding Claus out there was a pretty awkward situation for all of them. X3 And Ness is a very understanding guy apparently. ^^' And well, yeah, they don't really trust Claus. The scientists put it in while they were reconstructing him just in case he goes rogue, can't be too careful. And well, Kumatora's speculated to be around 15 or 16 years old, at least in this story. And yeah, Connor, your writing doesn't suck! In fact you've been teaching me how to write better. ^^'

 **Connor:** Aww, thanks! :)

* * *

Ness found himself with the age-old instinctual question: fight or flight?

He scanned the area around him. He spotted trees, a river, tanks (how had those gotten there? Could that massive ship really carry _tanks?_ )… no straight pathway for teleportation.

 _I have to find Ninten!_ he thought. _Maybe he knows Teleport Beta. I can't use it because of this stupid collar._

Ness looked back over at Fassad and Claus. The latter strangely seemed calm despite all this.

"What do you want from me, Fassad? You didn't have to go through such lengths just to talk to me," Claus said in that emotionless tone, though there were hints of annoyance and a tint of fear.

"Ah, but you've lead us to the criminals, and the other traitor," Fassad replied with a triumphant smile.

 _I gotta move!_ Ness thought, springing into action. Fassad surely knew that he was closeby, so he wouldn't be giving away too much… he hoped.

 _Ninten!_ Ness screamed telepathically. He was a bit rusty on his telepathy skills, so the word was broadcasted as a pained croak. _Can you use Teleport Beta and get us out of here?_

There was no response, either Ninten didn't hear him or he didn't know how to respond back.

"Yes, and you decided to come straight after me instead of them?" Claus said, not standing down.

"You're the only one with a tracking device on you," Fassad said. "For some reason, Master Porky didn't want to put one on Ness, even though he was _obviously_ traitorous."

Ness scowled. He hadn't been _that_ obvious, had he?

"Well you found me, now what will you do? I have not been a traitor and I am still the Commander of the Pigmask army, Fassad," Claus said calmly.

"Good, you still want to prove your loyalty," Fassad said. "In that case… come with me. Surely you know that you've been getting glitches lately? We should see Dr. Andonuts and fix those up."

"Don't do it, Bud!" Ness yelled. "Don't… don't give in! I know that it's hard to go against everything that you've learned, but can't you see that they'll just break you again?"

Claus turned to see Ness came out of his hiding spot and frowned, "What are you doing Ness? Just let me handle it. It's true that… _emotions_ have been gripping me lately, and I want them gone. You've been corrupting me all this time! I know you have, with all your… caring and talking, I'm not supposed to have these thoughts or emotions, and they weren't there until you came along!"

"You are _supposed_ to feel!" Ness yelled. "I only saw your shattered heart and tried to pick the pieces up!"

"Oh who are you going to listen to? This kid who's obviously a traitor and will never be a true tool for Master Porky, or someone who's been training you since your creation in the lab?" Fassad said to Claus.

The boy was looking back and forth between Fassad and Ness. Ness could see the distress Claus was in; he didn't know who to believe.

"Go with your gut instincts!" Ness yelled. "Which one of us really feels wrong here?"

"This kid only wanted to corrupt you so you'd go on his side and turn against Master Porky. You should've figured that out the moment your glitches started," Fassad said. "After all, you have no memories of being human. That's because you never were one to begin with."

"That's not true!" Ness yelled. "Think of how you acted around Flint! Think of how you acted around Hinawa's grave! You have memories, but they've been smashed into so many pieces that you can't recognize them anymore."

"But those 'memories' could just be more glitches implanted by this traitor," Fassad said. "How would you know for sure they were real or not? How do you know they weren't just lies to persuade you to his side? There's no solid proof you ever had a family or a life before the Pigmask."

"No proof except for everyone who knew you recognizing you," Ness said. "Fassad's logic is starting to crumble. It's obvious that I don't have the technology or PSI to implant memories into your mind. Since you have control of my PSI, you know that."

"Are you really willing to turn your back on the ones who created you? The ones who gave you a purpose?" Fassad demanded Claus.

"Emotional propaganda alert," Ness said. "Wait, that's redundant. Uh… propaganda alert! He's trying to make you feel guilty because he doesn't have any logic left."

"Feeling guilty…? What good would that do if I'm not supposed to _feel anything_?" Claus questioned.

"You are supposed to feel," Ness said. "And even if you _weren't_ , Fassad knows that you _do._ Do you detect a logical argument in those words of his? I don't because there isn't one."

"So what's it going to be 'Commander'? Are you going to join up with the traitors or will you remain loyal to Master Porky?" Fassad asked the boy as the soldiers surrounding them looked at each other nervously.

"More propaganda!" Ness shouted. "Instead of trying to utilize logic, he's using loaded words. Think with your mind, Claus. Doesn't something about this whole mess feel _wrong?_ "

Claus looked down at his hands, seeing one was mechanical, but the other was as human as any other person. Looking back up again, he said, "Fassad, let me ask you something… why am I a human chimera? Why a boy and not a man like a Pigmask? Why make me emotionless? Animal chimeras still feel something, even if it's rage all the time."

"Good question!" Fassad exclaimed, adopting a falsely sweet smile. "We created you because of your PSI. You were an… experiment, of sorts. You see, only humans can use PSI, and every PSI-user learns their abilities as a child. We made you emotionless so that you wouldn't act like _him,_ " Fassad said, pointing at Ness. "It's the same principle as a robotic chimera. Both you and them are smart enough that you could overthrow us if you wanted, so we took steps to ensure that you would stay loyal."

"Scan him!" Ness yelled. "See if he's telling the truth!"

Too late, Ness caught Fassad's smirk.

 _Oh,_ Ness realized. _Oh no! Everything that he said was true; he just wasn't telling the full story! He knows that Claus was a human before; he just didn't mention it!_

Ness clenched his fists, looking at the ground angrily. He forced himself to take deep breaths. Ness had always prided himself on his ability to talk circles around other people. He had always relied on his wits to pull him through difficult situations.

And Fassad had just outsmarted him.

"Ah, yes," Fassad said. "I would hate for you to doubt me. Please do check if I'm lying or not, commander."

"... I sense no lies coming from you," Claus said with a pause. "... But… something doesn't sit right… Why did you use a dead body?"

"Because he already had the ability to use PSI," Fassad said. "Easier to turn that body into a chimera than to give another body such powers."

 _Again, all true…_ Ness thought. _Argh! This was so cool when I was doing it, but now I hate it! I'm sorry for all of the times I told the truth but mislead you, Bud!_

"Now, any other questions? We really need to get those glitches fixed before they lead to more malfunctions," Fassad said.

"..." Claus didn't give a response, but it didn't look like he was going to resist.

"Bud, please!" Ness yelled. "Can't you feel that something's wrong here? I know that Fassad's logic holds up, but doesn't something about his words still irk you?"

"First he says that I have no logic and now he tells you that I win the logic fight but that you should still ignore me?" Fassad asked. "He'll do _anything_ to turn you over to his side, commander. His desperation reveals his true intentions."

"Fassad sir!" A green Pigmask suddenly spoke up. "I found the thief hiding in the trees, shall I fire?"

"Yes, but take him alive," Fassad replied, waving his hand. "We're in an _advanced_ society with a _proper_ legal system. We need to try him before we inflict any sort of punishment."

"Yes sir." The Pigmask Major fired his gun at the tree and Ness could hear someone hissing in pain.

The bum-like man came falling out of the tree and rolled over on the grass, then a lady-like voice shouted in anger.

 _...What do I do now?_ Ness wondered.

"Hey, if you can use teleport Beta, now would we a freaking _perfect_ time!" Ness yelled, hoping that Ninten would recognize that the message was for him.

"PK FIRE!" Fire surrounded the Pigmask, burning most of them. An angry pink haired woman stood in front of Duster and her hands sparked with dangerous PSI.

 _...That's not quite a teleport Beta,_ Ness thought.

"Ah good, looks like that flushed out the rats out of hiding," Fassad said with a smirk.

As if to prove his point, Lucas jumped out of the foliage, carrying nothing but a stick.

"Okay," Ness said to the blonde. "We can't possibly win this. Don't you see how many pigmasks there are? They have tanks, and Fassad can call chimeras whenever he wants."

"I don't care," Lucas insisted. "I'm helping."

"You still have a life!" Ness yelled. "You still have a family!"

"...Claus is my family too," Lucas whispered.

"Now that we have you all surrounded, you'd be wise to turn yourselves in now to avoid any hurt," Fassad said. "But if you prefer it the hard way… fine by me," He smirked before looking at Claus, who was still looking confused and lost. "You have a choice to make: prove your loyalty by fighting these brats into submission. If you don't, then I'll have to brand you as a malfunctioning traitor."

The man and pink-haired girl stopped fighting with the pigmasks, turning to look at Claus.

"Don't do it!" Ness yelled.

"... Fight them…? E-even Ness?" Claus frowned.

"But of course," Fassad said, smiling cruelly. "He's an enemy as well."

"Don't worry about me!" Ness exclaimed. "I don't have anything to live for anyway. Just please… please don't hurt the others!"

"What's it going to be, Commander? If you don't fight them you'll be disobeying Master Porky and you know what happens when you disobey," Fassad threatened.

"But Ness… he… he treated me like a human being, not just the commander or chimera." Claus frowned.

Ness felt a wave of sorrow wash over him.

 _I really meant that much to him, huh?_

"Because that is all you are, a chimera meant to follow orders. You're not a human, you never were. The only thing human about you is the body you're in, and it's already dead." Fassad sneered.

"Do you _like_ being treated like that?" Ness asked. "You have other options, you know! Don't feel like you're forced to attack us. You always have a choice, Bud." Ness looked into his eyes. " _Claus_."

Claus's red and green eyes widen that Ness just called him by that name.

"Hurry up commander, if you gawk at them too long they'll get away!" Fassad demanded. "You'll be severely punished if you hesitate too long!"

"That's how Fassad works," Ness said. "He tries to use fear to control you. It feels awful, doesn't it? You don't have to stay with him, Bud. You're the master of your own destiny!"

"Attack them NOW!" Fassad yelled.

"SHUT UP!" Claus shouted as he released a strong PK Love. It went everywhere, hitting tanks and Pigmasks alike, it struck down several trees and toppled them over the Pigmasks too. Yet strangely enough it seemed to have missed Ness and the group.

 _He's not completely broken!_ Ness thought excitedly. _He still has a will of his own._

"It feels _horrible_ to be treated like a tool, doesn't it?" Ness asked, "Even if you think that you _are_ one. You can live for yourself! You can break out of your box! You can break out of Fassad's cycle of fear and abuse."

"I'm… I'm a puppet in their game," Claus said before he fell to his knees. "That's… that's what I am… just a puppet in their game." And he suddenly passed out on the ground.

A wave of concern washed over Ness.

 _I hope that he's okay… but he won't be for long if I let Fassad carry him away. How did that even happen?_

"Fassad," Ness said. "What are you going to do with Claus?"

"It seems you've gotten far with him, Ness. Master Porky had suspected this would happen eventually, but it happened a lot sooner than we thought," Fassad said with a dark grin. "But now we could just take him back and have him start from scratch again. Just like we plan to do with all of you!"

Nets were suddenly shot out from one of the tanks and Kumatora pushed Lucas and Ness out of the way before she and Duster were wrapped up in the nets.

"Don't bother to struggle, those nets are stronger than steel and drains PSI," Fassad said.

"Quickly!" Ness shouted. "Burn it away!"

"Urg…" the pink-haired girl muttered. "Can't… too weak."

"I can kill you now, if you want," Ness whispered. "That way, you won't have to turn into someone who you hate. Personally, I fear that more than anything."

"Killing them won't work," Fassad spoke up, having heard Ness's whisper. "That boy was already dead by the time we got our hands on him. It took us a while to take away his memories and emotions after we managed to bring him back, but death doesn't escape this fate."

Ness narrowed his eyes.

 _Is he bluffing?_ he wondered.

"Either way, none of you are escaping us this time," Fassad said. "Net them now!"

Ness suddenly felt someone grabbing him.

"Grab Claus, hurry!" It was Ninten; he was running for Lucas. "We have to stand together."

Ness looked at Claus, lying on the ground next to Fassad. He nodded.

"I'm going to kill you, Fassad!" Ness yelled, doing his best to act angry while he pulled a knife out of his pocked. "Do you hear me? I'm going to cut your head off!"

Ness ran forward, snarling viciously.

 _I've always been a decent actor,_ he thought. _But I've never had to pretend to be enraged. I wonder if Fassad can see through my facade… heh._

Fassad watched Ness coming at him, "You want to challenge me? Oh-ho, I'll give you a challenge alright!" he bum rushed at Ness, slamming his waist into Ness's face before he could get to Claus.

Ness' vision flashed with pain. Only countless other instances of past injuries allowed him to ignore the pain. He hopped to his feet and drove his knife into Fassad's chest. Fassad's eyes widened in surprise.

 _There, that should kill him… unless he has PSI or something. In that case, he can psionic stall. Wait… he's taking the damage slowly. He does have PSI!_

Ness gritted his teeth, running past Fassad and grabbing Claus' body.

He hurried over towards Ninten, who was holding Lucas's hand. "I can't teleport with all these guys in the way, but… I may have something that can help us escape."

Ness raised an eyebrow, knowing that asking would take up valuable seconds that Ninten could use to enact his plan.

"We can't leave Kumatora and Duster behind!" Lucas yelled, looking at them in worry. "...We can't leave them to be brainwashed."

Ninten looked over at them and frowned, "But we can't help them like this. We're completely outnumbered and if they catch us in those nets we're as good as brainwashed ourselves."

"Ninten is right," Ness said. "We'll come back for them later. Now do whatever you need to, Ninten! Quickly, before they fire another net!"

As if on cue, the tanks fired more nets at them. Ness's eyes widened as more than one tank fired these nets. They were completely surrounded; they would be caught even if they used Teleport alpha or beta now.

"4th D-Slip," Ninten whispered.

A loud but familiar noise flared up in their ears as the background grew blurry and their bodies dematerialized. It seemed to be similar to teleport, but they didn't even have to move. A few seconds later, the loud noise faded and their bodies rematerialized. Ninten fell on his hands and knees in exhaustion, it was as if he was strained during those few seconds. The place was empty, yet it showed signs there were tanks here because of the skid marks, but the Pigmasks were gone.

"You brought us into the future, didn't you?" Ness asked.

"Y-yeah…" Ninten panted. "I… I brought us… about an hour into… the future… that… that should be… more than enough… time for them to… give up on us and leave… ugh…"

 _He could have used that on Duster and Kumatora as well,_ Ness thought. _They would have slipped right out of the net when they came to the future with us._

However, Ness couldn't just _say_ that, not after Ninten just saved all of their lives. But still… Ninten needed to know that for future reference.

"So how does it work?" Ness asked. "So we disappear and reappear in the future? I assume that we weren't standing still while they watched or anything like that."

Ninten sat down and said, "... I think… that's how it works… I'm not too sure myself… I've only used it once before… when the cattlesnakes attacked… but the further into the future… I go… the more PSI… energy I need to use. It's already costly… just going five minutes into… the future, let alone an hour… with _four_ people."

Ness didn't know what to say to that.

"We should clear out of this place," Ness said. "...But they could be anywhere, huh? We should probably just stay here and recover. They'll never expect that. Reverse psychology for the win!"

Ninten looked over at Lucas, he sat down next to his unconscious long lost brother and gave a sigh. "Lucas… I'm sorry I… couldn't save Kumatora and Duster… but when I touched that net… I felt my PSI already beginning to drain… I don't think I could've done anything for them."

 _Er… can't you just stick your hand through the holes?_ Ness thought. _I guess in the heat of the moment..._

"It's… okay," Lucas said. "I can't complain. You just saved our lives, after all." Lucas walked over to Claus' body. "Thank you, Ninten. I know that I've roped you into all sorts of dangerous situations, and I really am sorry for that. You deserve so much better. Hopefully, we can find where you came from soon."

"Y-yeah…" Ninten seemed to frown at that, though Ness was unsure. "So… what are you going to do about Claus? I… don't think he remembers you."

"...I guess I'll just have to wait until he does," Lucas whispered.

"Yeah… at least he has someone he knows by his side who will help him," Ninten gave him a small smile before turning to Ness. "And you've been helping him too. He did seem to care about you when Fassad told him to fight you."

Ness nodded.

"That made me feel so sad," Ness said. "Because I wasn't some amazing friend or whatever. I was just all that he had. A single 14-year old was all that stood between him and emptiness. Naturally, he started to care about me, even if I may not have deserved it."

Ninten gave a frown at that, "What? Why do you say that? I think you were amazing as it is just to be his friend when nobody else wanted to."

"I… guess," Ness said. "But I really didn't do that much. The fact that he cared so much about me says more about his general situation than me as a friend."

"Still," Lucas said, looking down at Claus. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ness said. "I just wish that I could have done more. More for him… and for Duster and Kumatora."

"You've helped him get away from that army that had trapped him, I think that's more than enough. Now we just need to help him pick up the pieces of who he once was and help him recover," Ninten said quietly. "But… Kumatora and Duster… I guess we won't be seeing them for a while."

"Remember, Claus has wings," Ness said. "He can fly us anywhere in the world. Once we get some rest, we can go rescue them."

"I hope you're right," Ninten said. "We'll save them for sure." Then he gave a small frown. There seemed to be something else bothering him but he appeared hesitant to say anything. He probably thought that it was minor after what happened.

"Something else seems to be on your mind," Ness said, raising an eyebrow.

Ninten looked over at Lucas, who was still watching his brother in concern. "... Well… it's… it's nothing really."

"...You do know that saying that it's nothing only makes people more curious, right?" Ness asked.

Ninten gave a sigh, "I know… I just… don't know how to say it. I mean it's my own problem… Lucas had to endure his life in the village as an outcast, Claus was pretty much broken and you were trapped in a horrible place… my problems are pretty minor, actually."

Ness blinked.

"Ninten, you nearly got _killed._ Your problems are pretty legit. And even if they aren't, I would still like to hear about them. Talking about problems can feel surprisingly good and we have nothing better to do."

The look alike boy gave a sigh before he tone down his voice into a soft whisper that Ness had to strain to hear him. "I… I think I might be… a Pigmask soldier."

"Okay," Ness said. "Doesn't it feel better to get that out?"

Ninten just gave a blush and grumbled, "I feel embarrassed… But aren't you curious why I think I'm a soldier?"

"Yeah, a little," Ness said. "I just don't really see why it matters if you are or aren't a Pigmask. You're still Ninten. But please, go ahead and share!"

"It matters because…" Ninten lowered his voice again, "Lucas really hates them, and I don't want him to start hating me. And… when we were passing by the forest I woke up in, I had a brief flash of being with the Pigmask in their ship in my head. I don't know what else to make of that other than I was a fellow soldier."

"That's pretty convincing evidence," Ness said. "I don't think that Lucas would care. If he did, then that would make him a pretty bad friend."

"Care about what?" Lucas asked.

 _Oops,_ Ness thought, giving Ninten an apologetic shrug.

Ninten punched Ness' shoulder, not enough to hurt but enough for him to feel more than a tap. "Way to go Mr. Big Mouth." He turned his attention to Lucas. "It's nothing… uh… I mean, care that I have amnesia and all!"

"you're a terrible liar," Lucas told Ninten.

"It's okay," Ness said with a smile. "He won't care, Ninten."

"Look, it doesn't even matter," Ninten said. "The point is… I don't want to remember my past anymore."

"...What are you two hiding from me?" Lucas asked.

"Ninten is absolutely right," Ness said. "It doesn't matter at all, so I don't know why he won't just tell you."

"I think I know why I haven't met anyone who knew me; it's because I've always hidden my face among the others, just another faceless soldier, marching on, probably doesn't even have a family or a home and that's why I was one in the first place." By this point it seems Ninten was mostly muttering to himself rather than to Ness and Lucas.

"...What?" Lucas asked.

Ninten crossed his arms and gave a sigh. "... Your brother was… and probably still is the commander of the Pigmask, and Ness is a former commander… what do you think of them?"

"Of Claus and Ness?" Lucas asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Claus is my brother and I love him." He paused. "Ness is... nice person who helped us multiple times. Why?"

Ness shot a look at Ninten that said, "I told you so."

Ninten shot him a glare back that said, "Shut up."

"Well… you knew Claus since birth and Ness's memories are intact. I don't know who I am or why I'm here, so for all we know this isn't even my real personality. Maybe I'm not such a nice boy, maybe I'm just as big a jerk as those Pigmasks are in reality," Ninten said bitterly. "After all, personality aside, memories shape us to become who we are."

"Memories influence a person in subconscious ways," Ness said. "If your experiences turned you into a jerk, you would still be a jerk. But you're not."

"I have to agree with Ness," Lucas said. "I just can't see you being a bad person, _definitely_ not like those Pigmasks."

"We still don't know that for sure…" Ninten sighed. "... Lucas… remember when we were passing the forest from where I was unconscious? I had a brief memory of being on the Porkship with the Pigmasks. I don't know what to make of it other than I was one of them."

"Oh!" Lucas exclaimed, his eyes flashing in surprise. "That must be kind of unsettling, huh? I mean, I won't pretend to understand how it feels not to know who you were but I can't imagine that it would feel comfortable."

"Yeah… but… there's still a few things I didn't quite understand…" Ninten said. "If I was one of them, how come nobody seem to recognize me? Fassad didn't even seem to know me either. Maybe they never saw my face under that mask? Was I someone who rather hide their face away from the world? And when they talked to Claus, they made it sound like he was the only one among them who could use PSI and that's why they made him loyal. What about me? Couldn't I use PSI too? All these questions and no answers."

"Personally," Ness said. "I think that you did try to hide yourself. You were probably pressured to join their ranks. Porky's empire stretches wide. You probably lived in a remote town when the Pigmasks came in like they did in Tazmily and more or less forced you to join them."

"Could that have been it?" Ninten said as he began thinking. "If I was forced to join to protect my family… then maybe I wasn't such a bad person after all, but these are just theories." He looked at Ness before he said, "... I can sense powerful PSI locked in you… I think… no, I can tell you're someone who's traveled a lot and fought a lot of battles. Were you a commander for long or was this before you were one?"

"The latter," Ness answered. "I wouldn't have lasted six months as a commander, honestly. It's soul-crushing stuff."

"Why don't you tell us about yourself then?" Ninten asked. "We, as you've said before, don't have anything better to do right now."

"I don't think that you would believe me," Ness answered. " _I_ wouldn't believe me."

"Considering all that's happened lately, I think we could be pretty open minded," Ninten chuckled. "At least try us before you think we wouldn't believe you."

"Fair enough," Ness replied. "Porky has some extremely powerful technology. It's powerful enough, as I learned, to traverse time. He rudely _wrenched_ me from my time period and stuck me here. Yeah, I came from the past. Or the future. But I think it's the past."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… Porky can use something that can travel through time? And… you're from the past?" Ninten stared at his doppelganger. "How far from the past are we talking?"

"No idea," Ness said, "But I don't recognize the world at all. Anyways, I had some adventures as a kid. Some of them involved fighting things. That's how I picked up on a lot of PSI and combat stuff. One of my friends told me that he was going to train me in martial arts, but… well, I guess I'll never see him again."

That revelation hit Ness harder than it should have.

"... That must be… horrible for you. To be so far away from home and everything you've known." Ninten frowned sadly. "I'd like to say I know what you're going through, but… I don't remember my own friends or family. I want to miss them though, I feel like a heartless monster for not missing them. But… if you're from the past and Porky brought you here… maybe there's still a chance to bring you back."

"I guess," Ness said with a shrug. "But honestly, it probably won't happen. And you're free to feel what you want, but I think that feeling guilty for not remembering your family is pretty silly. It's not like you can help it."

"Of course I feel guilty for not remembering them. They're people I had loved," Ninten said softly. "But this isn't about me. If you're from another timeline, then that could cause some serious consequences to the space-time continuum, if we don't get you back it could cause the universe to collapse, or so I've heard from someone."

"That's just a theory," Ness said, "And not a very good one. Time is just a regular dimension, right? I mean, traversing it is nearly impossible, but travelling through it shouldn't really harm the universe in that way. Besides, Porky's been messing with time for a while, I think. If the universe would have collapsed, it would have done so a while ago."

"... Good point. But why would Porky travel through time just to get a random kid from some random timeline?" Ninten asked before he looked at Ness. "... Unless… you two had history?"

"Perceptive," Ness said with a smile. "Yeah, we were friends growing up. But he had a rough relationship with his family and started to become bitter. He's tried to kill me before."

"Sounds like he had it rough too." Ninten frowned. "Especially if it made him bitter enough to want to kill you." Then he turned back to Lucas, who had been quiet for a while. "How are you doing over there, Lucas? Any signs of Claus waking up yet?"

Lucas nodded.

"Yeah, he's starting to stir."

"Once he wakes up, we should explain the situation to him," Ness said. "Hopefully, he won't freak out. We're going to need him to transport us around."

"Can he transport all of us at the same time?" Ninten sweatdropped at that.

Ness rolled his eyes.

"If you really need your personal space, Claus could bring me over and I could teleport back to you and then back to the place where Claus brought me… assuming that he's willing to unlock my PSI."

"I just meant could he really bring three people at once everywhere?" Ninten chuckled.

"He's awake," Lucas said.

"All right," Ness replied. "Let's see how he reacts to the knowledge that everything that he knew has been taken from him."

Ninten nodded as they hurried over to Lucas and Claus.


	17. Chapter 17: Deception and Trickery

**Connor: How's everyone doing today? :) Not like I'm actually expecting you guys to respond to that question in your reviews or anything. xD**

 **DarkFoxKit: Can you believe how close the new year is coming? The year either felt like it dragged on for too long or it's just gone in a blink of an eye. Also, I'll be going on a long trip tomorrow, so I won't be able to update Rebuild or Reborn for those who read that next Monday.**

 **Connor: That's too bad. :( Should we get onto the reviews?**

 **DarkFoxKit: Yeah, let's get to the reviews.**

 **Shimo no ko:** Yeah, they all had it rough, although Ness and Ninten only just interacted with each other for half an hour, hard to say if they'd get along well yet. Thank you for wishing my dad a happy birthday :D. I never did get to beat Bowser's Inside Story, I lost the game. DX And have a happy new year!

 **Connor:** Ah, Bowser's Inside Story is pretty fun. :) Some of the little minigames with the touch screen really annoy me, though. xD

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** **Connor:** Yeah, I know what you mean. Getting Claus back wasn't exactly climactic. It wasn't mellow, but it wasn't as big of a deal as it could have been. So yeah, we're going to shake things up and lead up to a real climax… but who's to say that it has to do with Claus? ;)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Please note that I had hoped it would've been more emotional with Lucas. :P

 **Connor:** It's already too long as it is. :) Any more bulk and it might flop over (not literally, but…)

 **crabbyTomato:** Thank you for saying that to my dad! :D And the whole angel and devil thing with Claus was kind of the idea for it. And can you really blame Claus? He really doesn't know what to do. ^^' And well it was really me who portrayed Claus with the green/red eyes, I just think he looks really cool like that. Duster and Kumatora… yeah, don't get your hopes up about them. I'd like to hear your theory on Ninten's involvement. :3 And Claus going on a robotic rampage… that would've been a funny idea. ^^'

 **A Fan:** **Connor:** I mean, we have all of these chapters written out well ahead of time, so… that's not really it. :) Sometimes, we just have different views of conflicts and it doesn't mesh well. It's why most collaborative fiction in the real world is quite different than what we're doing. And yeah, Duster already has a defined character in M3 and it's not really interesting so I just tend to push him to the side. Yep, the nets were the convenient plot thing that I mentioned in the last AN. They play a part later, I promise! :)

Yes, they know that Claus has a tracking device on. Heh, that scene was kinda weird because we switched off writing Fassad and mine was more devious while Fox's was more impulsive and prone to using propaganda rather than reason. I think that it didn't turn out too badly, though. xD

 **DarkFoxKit:** It just seems like something he'd do. ^^'

 **PSIBoy:** I can't really comment on Wind Waker Ganondorf since I never played the game. So you and Connor can have fun with that. ^^'

I think just about everyone really hates Fassad after that last chapter. XD And the needles aren't going to mentioned much in this story. But Porky's reason for keeping Claus is unknown right now, and Fassad just likes to see him squirm. Kumatora and Duster… well… let's just say there's not a lot of hope for them. And this chapter should answer your question about Claus… maybe.

 **Connor:** As for the thing about Porky, he just feels that he doesn't have the need to do that since he can go back and change things whenever he wants to (or so he thinks…).

 **PK Gossamer : ****Connor:** Yeah, I write Ness. :) He's not one of my best characters because his weaknesses aren't really well-defined, but I do have quite a bit of fun writing him. And… thanks, but your reviews are still pretty long. xD Not like that's a bad thing! Long reviews are great! :) Yeah, this is where the Yin and Yang thing starts to break down a little. xD And _did_ you do Kuma's character in that chapter, Fox? I normally write Kuma in this fic, but she did seem more like how you would write her. I honestly don't remember. :P And the plot point that I mentioned was the nets. Super convenient that they would have the technology for the exact thing that negates PSI users. To me, a tracking device is more plausible. :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Did I write Kumatora? … I don't think so, I mean she's your secondary character, isn't she? Besides, I thought she was rowdy in both this and my other fanfic. ^^' Hothead characters were never my strong point, I usually prefer the more calming yet slightly angst type characters, who prefers to think rather than act, but that's just me. And I know you didn't mean any harm to Fyre, but I just wanted to make it clear I was the one who wrote Kumatora for those scenes.

I'm flattered to know that you like my Claus in this story. Most people seem to prefer Connor's Ness here. ^^' Not that I blame them, Ness is pretty funny in this story, and that's why I think his interactions with the emotionless Claus is pretty fun to do. And as for Kumatora and Duster's screen time… well… this story isn't exactly about them, so… don't get your hopes up. Admittedly, Duster is a bit hard to write for, since he's mostly just a quiet guy. He had some character development in Mother 3 sure, but I'm not all too sure what to do with him, and apparently neither does Connor. ^^' Oh and have a happy new year! :D

* * *

The three boys surrounded Claus as he began opening his eyes. Seeing the faces looking down on him suddenly, his eyes widened and he scrambled back.

"Wh-what is the meaning of this? Where am I?" He demanded, looking scared but trying to sound monotone.

"We didn't move you… much," Ness replied with a smile. "You're basically in the same place where you fell unconscious."

Claus frowned at them before looking around, "... Where is Fassad? Where are the Pigmasks?"

"Gone, hopefully," Ness replied. "Although they may come back soon. Bud, do you know how to remove your tracking device?"

"Tracking device? … I wasn't aware I had one until Fassad mentioned it." Claus frowned. "It might be… inside my body somewhere so it wouldn't come off so easily."

"Well, we need to get some things sorted out, and quickly," Ness said. "Fassad likely knows that we're here now. We have to act quickly. Bud, are you in this with us?"

"Am I captured?" Claus said, looking at Ninten and Lucas. "Is that an order?"

"I think he's used to being with Pigmasks, he's not sure how to 'function' without them." Ninten frowned as he watched Claus's behavior.

"You can do whatever you want, Claus," Lucas said with a supportive smile.

"So long as it doesn't involve attacking us," Ness added.

"I… I don't think I would want to attack you," Claus sighed. "But I've never… had to care what I would want." He looked at the three kids who were looking at him, seeming to think about something. "... Do you all… have PSI? And you're all… children?"

"Well we're more like teenagers, or at least Ness and I are. I guess Lucas is more of a pre-teen." Ninten smiled as he put an arm around the blond.

"So," Ness said. "I hate to be stern, but we're pressed for time. Are you willing to help us, Bud?"

"I am now branded as a malfunctioning traitor among the Pigmasks because of you Ness." Claus frowned and looked down. "The most logical thing for me to do as Master Porky's robot is to head back to base and get these glitches checked out so I can work under duty again."

Ness, Lucas and Ninten all frowned at this as Claus gave a pause.

"... But… as your friend… I have nothing better to do," Claus answered, looking back up at them.

"So you _are_ willing to help us?" Lucas asked hopefully.

"I... guess... so..." Claus said slowly, as if not sure if that's what he's doing himself.

"I think free will is still foreign to him," Ninten said with a sigh.

"Great!" Lucas exclaimed, an eager smile popping onto his face.

"In that case, we need to remove your tracker," Ness said. "It's picking up on our conversations as well as signaling your location. We should go to Dr. Andonuts and have it deactivated."

"But we need to rescue Kumatora and Duster…" Lucas said.

"You won't be saving them even if you go there now," Claus said. "Master Porky's brainwashing chamber works fast. They'll be turned into his happy slaves in a matter of hours. I've seen it happen with a lot of soldiers that didn't want to join at first. And Dr. Andonuts is still in the base, do you plan on us risk going back there, Ness? And he is still working for Master Porky."

"Porky brainwashes his soldiers?" Lucas asked in horror.

"I'm honestly surprised," Ness said. "Fascism tends to breed patriots. I would think that Porky would have so many volunteers that he wouldn't need to brainwash anyone, but Bud here is the expert. Duster and Kumatora are gone."

"He only brainwashes the strong ones who don't want to willingly join, the rest are volunteers or subtly brainwashed by the Happy Boxes," Claus answered. "But you still haven't answered my question about Dr. Andonuts, Ness."

"I do plan to go back there," Ness said. "Most people are rather quite cooperative when you hold a knife to their throats. I think that we can… persuade Dr. Andonuts to help us."

"You guys are going back there?" Ninten asked. "Should Lucas and I go with you to back you up?"

"Wait…" Claus looked up at the sky. "There's no need to get so violent. The Pigmasks at the base, they can be trusted, they are who created me after all."

"Of course," Ness replied. "We ask nicely first. Then we pull out the knife."

"No Ness." Claus looked back at him, "We're not pulling a knife on any of them. I'm going to go back there willingly so get fixed so I can be Master Porky's robot again."

"What? But I thought you-" Ninten began to say when Claus held up a hand.

"I just think it's the best thing for a robot like me to do," Claus said, gritting his teeth as if trying to tell them something without actually saying it.

Ness' eyes narrowed.

"No, you _can't!_ " Lucas exclaimed, fumbling for words. "Claus, please don't…"

"I don't have a choice, this is what I was built for," Claus said to the distressed twin, sounding as emotionless as when Ness first met him. "You get it now? I belong with the Pigmasks, Fassad was right all along." Claus looked at Ness and shook his head, as if trying to say that's not what he really wanted to say.

"...All right," Ness said.

"WHAT?" Lucas yelled, looking heartbroken.

"You two don't have to come with us if you don't want to," Ness added with an apologetic shrug.

"I have to take you back too, Ness," Claus said to Ness, clicking his cannon arm on but not actually aiming it at Ness. "After all, Master Porky would want to deal with a traitor like you."

Ninten blinked before taking Lucas's shoulder and whispered to him, "Play along, Lucas." Then he gave an irritated sigh, "Are you serious? You're going to revert just like that?"

Lucas blinked, the realization dawning on him.

"Why should I come back?" Ness asked, smirking to let everyone know that he was acting. "Why not just stay with Ninten and Lucas? I'm not the one who's being tracked, Bud."

"Because it's my duty. My orders were to stick with you. Fassad left before he could give me any new ones, and my first and foremost order from Master Porky himself is to stay with you. So you're either coming back with me conscious or unconscious, it makes no difference to me. So what will you do?" Claus said, his monotone voice never changing. It quite intimidated Ninten, especially if this was a regular thing with Claus.

"I'll go peacefully…" Ness said. " _If_ you enable some of my PSI. You do have control over it, right?"

"Of course, if that will get you to come quietly," Claus said as he used his robotic arm to grab the collar and force it to open, removing it from Ness's neck completely. "There, I enabled just a small portion of your PSI," he said, before putting the collar on the ground and crushing it beneath his boots. "Though it seems you're still trying to put up a fight by hitting my arm cannon."

"...I just don't like this, all right?" Ness grumbled, looking like he was about to laugh. "But I'll come. I don't think that I could beat you anyway."

"And what will you do with the rest of us?" Ninten asked.

"You are welcome to come willingly if you want, perhaps to see your friends again. But I will not put up a fight with you if you don't since my priority is to take Ness with me," Claus said to Ninten and Lucas.

"I don't see any reason to come," Lucas said coldly. Ninten had to check twice to make sure that he was faking it.

"Then that's your choice," Claus said. "Perhaps Fassad will hunt you down again if he really wants you that badly." He grabbed Ness's waist and activated his mechanical wings. "We are leaving now, Ness."

"Got it," Ness said, his voice hard as a stone. "See ya, Ninten, Lucas. At least, I hope that I live long enough to see you again."

With those words said, Claus took off into the sky with Ness, most likely heading back to base. With the two gone, Ninten looked over at Lucas.

"For someone who's not used to having free will, he sure picked up on trickery really fast. You think we'll see them again?" Ninten said in concern.

"...I don't know," Lucas said. "I hope so. Maybe I shouldn't. If they get caught, who knows what Porky will do to them?"

Ninten put a hand on Lucas's shoulder and said, "Let's just hope for the best… we shouldn't get too negative. Well… I guess there's nothing else for us to do out here, so should we head back home and see if your dad still wants to talk to us?"

"I just can't stop worrying about Duster and Kumatora," Lucas replied. "Maybe we can still save them…"

"Perhaps we can, but there's nothing we can do for them right now, at least not until Ness and Claus come back," Ninten said. "We don't know where their base is; only they do at the moment."

"...I guess," Lucas conceded. "Yeah, we can go back to Tazmily. I also wanted to apologize."

Ninten was getting ready to teleport when he heard Lucas apologizing. "Huh? For what?"

"I know that I haven't been pleasant lately," Lucas said sheepishly. "I've been letting my anger get the better of me. I can tell that I scare you sometimes. I'm sorry, Ninten. Thanks for sticking with me. It hasn't been easy, but you've made it easier."

"O-oh… I wasn't scared… I-I mean of course I'd stick with you. You're my friend." Ninten blushed, embarrassed that Lucas knew he had been scared of him when he got angry. "A-and anyways… how do you feel now that you found your brother?"

"Eager to divert attention, huh?" Lucas asked with an impish smile. "It's been… I don't know how to describe it. I can see parts of him shining through, but he's just so _different._ I hope that Ness can get him back for me."

"How was he like before?" Ninten asked curiously as he tried to focus on Tazmily to prepare the teleportation.

"Upbeat, excited, practical," Lucas replied. "He's quite a lot like Ness, actually… although he was more lighthearted and probably wasn't as clever."

"Wasn't as clever?" Ninten chuckled. "I don't know Lucas, he came up with the idea that he was going back to base still as their robot, that seems pretty clever to me since none of us thought of that."

"I feel like Ness might have," Lucas said with a shrug. "He always seems to know what to do, but I don't know if that's always a good thing. The way that he talked about Dr. Andonuts scared me. I guess that's just part of who he is. Should we teleport back to Tazmily?"

"I guess Ness just has more experience since he went on a journey; anyone would grow both physically and mentally from that. Claus has been… well… trapped for the most part," Ninten said with a shrug, walking into an open area. "But okay, take my hand. I'm taking us back home."

As soon as Lucas took Ninten's hand, the red cap boy concentrated before he said, "Teleport." The two began running through the forest, picking up speed as the teleportation did its work.

The two soon arrived right in the middle of town, and it was pretty empty since it was late at night.

"Huh," Lucas whispered. "I never really realized that it was night time. Everything seems dark in the forest."

"We must've been out all day," Ninten said, looking around. "You think your dad's home? He might be quite angry…" he shivered, it seems the intimidation of anger runs in Lucas's family, he wondered how scary Claus would be if he ever got angry.

"I hope not," Lucas whispered. "We have nowhere else to go. He said that you could stay at our place… I hope that he hasn't gone back on his word."

The two head towards the house, where Boney came out of his doghouse and gave a happy bark at seeing them.

 _"_ _Oh good! You two finally came back! I was worried about you! Especially after that Ness boy telling us you may never come back!"_ Boney barked, wagging his tail before pouncing Lucas and licking his face.

"Yeah, Ness seems like someone who gets a bit dramatic sometimes," Lucas replied, bending down to pet Boney. "How's dad been?"

 _"_ _He was an emotional wreck after that news, but I think he's feeling better now,"_ Boney said before going to Ninten and giving him the same licking treatment.

"O-okay! Down boy, you're licking me a lot!" Ninten whined as getting dog slobber all over his face.

 _"_ _But I missed you!"_ The dog whined.

"At least you're not biting me," Ninten said before Boney finally got off him. "Okay Lucas, I guess we should knock in case he's asleep."

"Hey Boney," Lucas said. "Is dad asleep?"

 _"_ _I don't think so, he sounded worried about something since Fassad made the announcement a couple of hours ago,"_ Boney answered.

"Announcement? What announcement?" Ninten asked.

 _"_ _Something about a martial law and lockdown, but I wasn't paying too much attention,"_ Boney said.

"You should," Lucas said teasingly, scratching behind Boney's ears. "That stuff is important."

 _"_ _I'm sorry Lucas, but he's always yapping about some nonsense so I just tuned him out. You can talk to Flint; he probably knows more about it then I do,"_ Boney whined.

"You're not the first one to tune Fassad out," Lucas said. "Come on, Ninten. Let's go!"

Lucas opened the door, revealing the familiar layout of his house. Ninten looked around the house before they heard footsteps approaching them.

"Who's there?" A gruff voice demanded.

Ninten quickly scooted behind Lucas, not wanting to have the father's wrath on him again.

"Hey, Dad!" Lucas exclaimed. "Sorry that I'm home late. Ninten and I got sidetracked."

"Lucas? Ninten?" The cowboy came into view and looked down at them, it was hard for Ninten to tell what he's feeling since his eyes were covered by that hat of his, but he looked relieved to see them. "Oh thank goodness you're both alright. When I heard you were chased down by Fassad and the Pigmasks I wasn't sure if you'd ever be coming back."

"It was a little close," Lucas admitted. His face turned downcast. "They took Duster and Kumatora. Fassad framed Duster and provoked us into attacking. Now both of them are brainwashed. _That_ is pigmask justice."

"I was afraid of that. How did you two get back in the village? About a couple of hours ago… Fassad had put the entire village under lockdown, it's not easy for anyone to get in or out," Flint said grimly.

"Ninten teleported us back in," Lucas answered. "And why would Fassad put Tazmily in lockdown? Let me guess: he's making up some lies about citizen safety with dangerous criminals on the loose."

"That and they're hoping to catch them soon with some kind of lure, but they hadn't said what," Flint said. "You boys sure gotten yourselves in quite a trouble, huh?"

"I-I'm sorry about that sir," Ninten said softly, after all, all this stuff started happening when he came along.

"It wasn't really our fault, Ninten," Lucas said. "This all started by Fassad framing Duster for theft two years ago."

"It's high time somebody do something about Fassad, he's caused enough trouble in Tazmily," Flint said sternly. "It seems he's been looking for four children around the ages of 12-14. Let me guess; you two are among the four, right?"

"Yeah," Lucas muttered. "He won't rest until he captures us, huh? It's times like these that make me want to rewind my life. I feel trapped and constantly afraid. As Ninten knows, I haven't been holding up so well. It's _hard_ not knowing what tomorrow will throw at you."

"I think there's a way to do that actually," Ninten said. "But uh… wait, what am I saying? Mr. Flint, do you know what we should do about Fassad? If we're wanted then it'll be dangerous for us to go out there."

"You don't have to be so formal, Ninten. I'm… sorry for how I treated you before. I wasn't in my right mind… But I know I have no excuse. And as for Fassad, I'm afraid nothing comes to mind at the moment other than keeping you two hidden," Flint answered him.

"Do you know how everyone else is doing?" Lucas asked. "I swear, if Fassad starts taking hostages…" Lucas' face turned dark.

"No, he's not going that far… at least not yet. Everyone's locked up in their homes since Fassad placed in that law, we now have curfew and if anyone is caught walking out at this time of night they are arrested on the spot," Flint explained. "Only members of the Pigmasks are allowed to roam the streets at this time."

"...I hope that Fuel and Angie are all right," Lucas said softly.

"They should be fine, but right now all we can do is sit here and wait until they allow us to leave our homes again," Flint said. "You two are lucky they didn't catch you when you teleported back here."

"Mr. F- I mean Flint… what would happen if they arrested someone? Where do they take them? I don't think that tiny jail cell could hold a lot of people," Ninten said.

"I'm wondering that myself," Flint replied. "They haven't arrested anyone yet, so maybe they're bluffing… but they don't seem like the type to make empty threats."

"We have to find some way to take them down," Lucas said. "Somebody has to get rid of Fassad once and for all."

"You mean like kill him?" Ninten asked Lucas in worry.

"It _would_ be the easiest way to make sure that he doesn't cause more trouble," Flint replied. "And he deserves to die after all of the pain that he's caused. The only question is if we're okay with ending someone's life."

"I am," Lucas whispered, "If it's Fassad. I know that I should try to resort to peace, but I just can't stop _hating_ him. I truly want him to die. Is that a bad thing?"

"..." Ninten couldn't help but think about that.

 _"_ _Look at what he's done to everyone! Why should it be a bad thing if I truly want him to die? Look at what happened to Teddy! And to EVE! This monster NEEDS to die!"_

 _"_ _Ninten…"_

Ninten shook his head, frowning. _What was that? … Who's voice was that? It… sounded like a girl… was it someone I know? And… why did I sound so…_ hateful _like Lucas does now?_

The boy looked up at Lucas before putting a hand on his shoulder and said, "Whether or not that's a bad thing is… debatable, it's true Fassad's been the bane of Tazmily's existence since he came here, but… it's dangerous to think that way. You could so easily fall prey to the hate in your heart, until you're no better than the one you hate. Still, I don't control how you feel and I can't say I truly understand your hate for him as I hadn't lived like you did for two years."

"I know that it's dangerous," Lucas said, "But I don't feel that it's wrong. That scares me a little. Do either of you have any ideas for how to take down Fassad? And Dad, don't the pigmasks sell tools that can light stuff on fire?"

"You mean like a match?" Ninten asked, raising an eyebrow at that. "I really hope you don't plan on burning Fassad at the stake or something." He sweatdropped at the image.

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"We need a way to deal with those nets, Ninten. According to Fassad, we can't cut them, so we have to burn them. I was hoping for something more like… what do they call it? A lighter?"

"Hmm… The Pigmasks sell all kinds of things I'm not familiar with. I'm sure there's at least one or two Pigmask merchants in this village," Flint said.

"We could try using disguises if we could just get our hands on a Pigmask uniform…" Ninten suggested, though he realized flaws with that plan since it'd be risky to try and get those uniforms without getting caught, and they may not even have them in their size.

"That would be risky, but it could work," Lucas replied. "We also need a way to deal with the tanks."

"I heard they don't do well with electricity. Could either of you boys use electric attacks?" Flint asked.

"I… don't think I can," Ninten frowned.

"I can't," Lucas said. "...Kumatora could."

"Right, well I suppose another way you could deal with them is to penetrate a hole in their weak spot and cripple the driver," Flint said. "Though that's a… darker way of doing it."

"Do we even have anything that could be strong enough to penetrate a tank?" Ninten asked, looking at Lucas.

"Ness' PK Rockin flipped one over," Lucas answered. "My PK Love might do the trick. This would be so much easier if Ness and the commander knew where we were… but we can't count on them coming to help us."

"Ness and the commander?" Flint suddenly said. "You've met them again?"

"Yeah, but they left before we came here," Ninten said.

"... I see…" Something was troubling Flint about them, or perhaps maybe he suspected something about that commander, which Ninten wouldn't be surprised.

"Er… Dad?" Lucas asked. "I know this might be hard to hear, but I think that the commander is _possibly_ Claus who's been brainwashed."

"Really? You just out and tell him that?" Ninten shot a deadpan expression at the blond boy.

"Claus… Claus was… brainwashed?" Flint said slowly, and the shadow over his face became darker, or at least it did to Ninten. "...By whom?"

"The pigmasks," Lucas replied. "Who else?"

"...So he's alive?" Flint said, sounding strangely hopeful rather than devastated that his son was brainwashed into being a lifeless robot.

"I think so," Lucas answered. "He looks exactly like Claus. I feel so bad for him, but I guess it's good that he's alive. You searched for two years and he was right under your nose. That's… funny, in a way."

"I'm… I'm just happy that my other lost son is still alive even after all these years," Flint said in a quiet tone. "Lucas, it's about time I try being a father again, but it will take me time to readjust."

Ninten couldn't help but offer a smile. It was nice seeing Flint trying so hard to make up for lost time to his son like that.

"Of course!" Lucas exclaimed. "So long as you try, I promise that I'll be patient."

Boney suddenly started barking outside, catching their attention.

"What's going on?" Ninten asked.

"I don't know, but when Boney barks like that it means something's wrong," Flint said grimly.

The three looked out the window to see Fassad dragging someone with him.

"I think he just arrested someone," Ninten frowned. "Who is it?" He narrowed his eyes trying to see if he could see a bit further before he gasped. "... Is that… Fuel?"

"It had better not be," Lucas said, a murderous glare forming on his face. He walked up to the window. "...It is."

The murderous aura coming from Lucas almost suffocated Ninten; he had to back away to keep from triggering his asthma. "Lucas, calm down, please…" He looked around trying to figure out what to do. "Maybe we can follow him and see where he's taking Fuel."

"Sounds good to me," Lucas replied. "And what do you mean by 'calm down?' I haven't even done anything yet."

"You just… gave off some intense…" Ninten hesitated before he shook his head. "Maybe it's nothing… a-anyways if we're going to follow him we better go now before they get out of sight."

Lucas nodded.

"Dad, do you want to come with us?" he asked.

"As much as I want to, Lucas, I'm afraid I shouldn't. I've caused a lot of trouble with Fassad and the Pigmasks in the past, they're bound to keep an eye on me to make sure I behave. You two are smaller and can sneak around easier than I can anyways, carrying around a heavy 2x4 isn't exactly stealthy." Flint answered.

"Okay," Lucas replied. "We'll be back soon!"

"Be careful out there boys," Flint said.

Ninten followed Lucas as the blond boy stepped out of the door and into the night.


	18. Chapter 18: Orders

**DarkFoxKit: Well then, shall we just get straight to the point? ;) Oh and, this is the first chapter we're uploading in 2016.**

 **Connor: I believe that those two statements contradict each other. :P But yeah, let's go straight to the reviews! ...Wait, those two statements contradict each other too, don't they? DX I'm a failure. D:**

 **DarkFoxKit: Oh you're not a failure, you just gotta learn a little more. :3 Alright, onto the first review!**

 **Shimo no ko:** **Connor:** Glad that you're doing well. :) Um… yeah, there's at least one more flashback. Well, you just insulted all of my characters. I'm offended! D: ...Just kidding. ;) But while I certainly don't agree with that line from Ness, I don't think that it makes him a psycho. He mostly sees the pigmasks as mindless drones, which isn't an uncommon response. I mean, I don't think that the majority of Americans would have any problem with threatening a Nazi scientist, and the pigmasks fall into the same category of fascists. But yeah, it's probably a good idea not to get _too_ obsessed with fanfiction. :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Thanks for the well wishes! :D And it was a nice trip.

 **Ender2142:** I guess Claus's acting was a little too good? ^^' Well at least he grasp the art of acting, must be Ness rubbing off on him. And when I first played Mother 3, I thought Flint still took care of Lucas before going off in search of Claus, so I never had any resent to him, in fact I respected him after what happened in chapter 1. But I've heard a lot of theories that Flint outright just left Lucas, so… not sure what to think on that. Father's pretty obsessed is all I can say. ^^'

 **Connor:** What can I say? Brainwashing moves the plot along. :P I will say that Ceres has _less_ brainwashing… but I can't promise none. :D And manipulation is really cool to write about because you get access to the invisible power struggles that go on. Fascinating stuff. I'm not even joking. :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** … Remind me not to be a character in your story. ^^' Then again, I do share the same sentiment.

 **PSIduck:** **Connor:** Bingo. Bull's eye. Whatever you want to call it. :) Yeah, I know that's a problem of mine (and it _is_ my problem, not Fox's). It tends to happen when either:

-I don't plan well

-I don't edit well

And, well… it's kinda hard to do either when I'm only controlling half of the story (which is why most collaborative fiction works _way_ differently than what we're doing). Stuff like that is why I keep talking about how unprofessional this is. So… I hate to say it, but that aspect of my writing might not change in this story. Sorry! D:

 **DarkFoxKit:** Maybe it's not the most professional work out there, but it was pretty fun for me at least. ^^'

 **Connor:** But yeah, we get it if you don't want to keep reading something so rough (I mean, it's not like we'll really know anyway :P).

 **DarkFoxKit:** Don't make it sound like the story sucks because of this. ^^'

 **A Fan:** Oh you know, lady luck is never really on their side. :P And the Ana cameo part is Ninten's memories. It wouldn't make sense if Ninten suddenly showed resentment out of the blue like that and yelled at the girl he can't remember in his head. Excuse me! My characters do still think before they act. *pouts* What's wrong with them? Okay, maybe Ninten could've thought things out a little more, but he's kinda intimidated by Lucas and he still doesn't have his memories, what'd you expect him to do? And if you were referring to Lucas, that's not a character I'm controlling here.

 **Connor:** Yeah, Lucas is a little… impulsive. xD And violent. :x

 **JR:** **Connor:** Mapped out? Heh. We made that up on the fly. xD Well… at least more "on the fly" than I usually like to write. Ah, thanks! ...Well, Claus is Fox's character, but I'm going to take some of the credit anyway. :D And thanks for the general compliments too. "Amazing talent" is stretching it a bit, though. xD It just takes practice, and I sure could use a lot more of that.

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan** **: DarkFoxKit: ** Yeeeeah, it drove me crazy when I couldn't see the new reviews. ^^' But I'm glad we can see them now. The fake conversation was something that I did on the fly to be honest, just figured it would be something they'd do to try and be sneaky since Fassad is most likely still hearing them through the device the scientists implanted on Claus. And… uh… it's kinda weird when you said you hoped Claus doesn't get fixed. I won't say anymore.

* * *

"Well, here we are," Ness said, looking at the Empire Porky Building. "It doesn't look quite as… grey from the outside, does it?"

"It's supposed to represent the power of Master Porky over the city. But it's mostly just grey in the soldier area, the rest of it is decorated for tourists that Master Porky brings in," Claus answered.

Ness let himself smile. Even though the air made him want to choke, Ness was _alive._ That counted for something, right?

"Well," he said. "Should we just stroll in, or do you want to fly us in?"

"Of course, you are my prisoner, I always fly you in. I have not been given permission to let you roam around the building after all," Claus answered, still sounding a bit like a robot.

"...Okay," Ness said. He could trust Claus, right? "Just a question before we go… how does this all feel? You've been through some crazy stuff, and now you're returning home. Does it feel fulfilling or hollow?"

"Feel… I don't have such garbage sense that you human always have," Claus spoke coldly. "Nor do I have anything called a home, I just have a place I stay until I am needed, that is all." He looked at the building with a melancholy expression as they entered through one of the open windows.

"Bud," Ness said. "Have you ever heard of someone named Stanley Milgram?"

"That name does not ring any bells to me," Claus answered, looking around the hallway.

"Ah," Ness said. "I was just thinking about him lately. He devised a rather controversial experiment in psychology. I researched it for a school project about it. Basically, subjects were told to deliver shocks to a victim whenever the victim answered a question wrong. The subjects were instructed to deliver harsher and harsher shocks for each question that the victim got wrong, and eventually the shocks reached torturous levels."

Claus looked at him with a puzzling expression, "Just where are you going with this?"

"Well, the electric shocks were fake and the 'victim' was just an actor pretending to get shocked," Ness said, "But these subjects thought that they were inflicting torture on others. And…" Ness took a deep breath. "Two thirds of them went through with it. Two thirds of the people got to the level where they thought that they were torturing someone else. In their mind, it wasn't their fault because they were _ordered_ to do it."

"..." Claus tilted his head at Ness, looking like a curious kid for a change. "Sounds… complicated." Was all he said.

"I know," Ness said with a sigh. "I… don't know if I could resist it. If Porky told me to kill an innocent person, would I? Would I rationalize it by telling myself that it's his fault for making me do it? Would I tell myself that Porky would just find someone else to do it if I couldn't? Would you do that, Bud?"

"... Killing an innocent person… heh… Master Porky would love to watch one squirm over doing that. That's just the kind of person he is. I just couldn't bring myself up to care about it, because I don't have such feelings. People live, then they die, what does it matter if they died faster?" The other boy answered with what appears to be a bitter smile, it was possible Claus had asked a question like that before and was told this answer. "Or perhaps maybe I didn't care because I couldn't afford to."

"Yeah," Ness said. "We each have our own excuses. Does it scare you that you find an innocent person impaled on your sword tomorrow? Because _they_ don't." Ness pointed to a group of pigmasks walking down the hall.

"It's why Master Porky designed me to be emotionless, so things like that wouldn't affect me," Claus answered as he lead Ness down the hallway.

" _Does_ it affect you?" Ness asked.

"I… don't really have an answer to that." Claus frowned hesitantly.

"Ah," Ness said. "Well, it's something to think about. Now… shall we pay Dr. Andonuts a visit?"

"His lab is right here," Claus said, gesturing to a door. "But… Dr. Andonuts most likely installed that…" he hesitated to say it, because chances were that Fassad could still be listening to them. "... Thing. So why would he want to remove it?"

"I guess that we're going to have to convince him," Ness said with a shrug. "How well do you know him?"

"I've known him since the day he activated me… so I've known him for two years at most," Claus answered simply. "He really is a nice man though, he sometimes talk to me like I was a human child instead of one of his own creations."

"Well, let's see what you can do, then," Ness said with a smile. "You're more likely to convince him than I am."

"I don't know what I could do… but I will see," Claus said as they opened the door.

There were a few scientists running tests on things Ness would rather not think about, and Dr. Andonuts was looking inside a test tube of what appears to be some kind of dinosaur creature.

"Dr. Andonuts." Claus spoke up, getting the doctor's attention.

"Ah!" he exclaimed half-heartedly, looking at Ness and Claus warily. "I… err… didn't expect to see you so soon! What is it, my boy?"

 _Why is he acting this way?_ Ness wondered. _Does he know about our run-in with Fassad?_

Claus seemed hesitant, it was like he wasn't sure what to say. Perhaps he was trying to think of a convincing lie? Which would be foreign to someone who's been trained to be loyal.

"I was wondering about something Fassad said to me before," Claus finally said. "He said that there's a tracking device implanted in me somewhere… why is there a tracking device in me? Was I not trusted to be a loyal tool for Master Porky?"

Dr. Andonuts seemed to roll that idea around in his mind.

"At first, we just wanted to be safe," he replied hesitantly. "Now, our primary use for your tracking device is to analyze the recordings of who you're talking to and see how that… ah, how that can benefit the pigmask army in any way."

"But why did it have to be me? Couldn't you have tested that on a Pigmask? They talk a lot more than I ever did," Claus asked, his face not betraying a single emotion.

"To be honest," Dr. Andonuts said, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "We didn't know if you would malfunction at first, and you are far more valuable than a standard pigmask."

"How much of a value could I be? You created me, didn't you? You could've just made another human chimera if you so wished," Claus said.

"It's hard to make flesh out of nothing," Dr. Andonuts replied with a shrug. "Especially flesh that can use PSI."

"So," Ness said. "You… conjured Bud's flesh? Made all of the cells from scratch?"

 _Please have your lie detector on, Bud!_ Ness thought.

"It's not impossible, right?" Claus asked with a hint of a hopeful tone. "I was made from scratch or possible remains of someone else, yes?"

"Yes…" Dr. Andonuts said, taking a deep breath. "We used… another body."

"... You used… the body of… a boy?" Claus said slowly, and if Ness listened carefully he could almost hear the heartbeat beating the boy's chest. "He was… already dead?"

Dr. Andonuts floundered.

"The boy was alive, wasn't he?" Ness asked.

"I never said that!" Dr. Andonuts exclaimed. "I… I can _assure_ you that we did not make you out of a live boy, good commander."

"You _can_ assure us," Ness said with a cold smile. "But _are_ you assuring us?"

Claus stepped forward to the sweating doctor, "Dr. Andonuts, please, I must know… you did make me from a _corpse_ , didn't you?"

"I'm sorry!" Dr. Andonuts exclaimed. "I… I made you out of a living child. He was probably going to die, and I was just following orders!"

Claus's pupils shrank and his expression was in shock, "... A _living_ … child…!? But… if the child was alive… then… that would mean…! N-no, it's a lie, it has to be! I was… I was created by you, I've only been alive for two years! Is that not so?"

"It was all a lie," Ness whispered. "Two thirds of people will lie to you and torture you if they're _told_ to by an authority figure. I guess we see which group Dr. Andonuts is a part of."

"..." Claus was looking down, his expression still in shock.

"...I'm sorry," Dr. Andonuts whispered.

"We all are, aren't we?" Ness asked. "Yet you still obeyed. I probably would have, in your situation. It seems like your guilt it still with you."

The way Andonuts shivered, it was as if he could feel his sins crawling on his back as well. "There was nothing more I can do about it either way. They brought in the boy and wanted us to create the first human chimera, and a perfect tool for Master Porky…"

"Hmm, _nothing that you can do?_ " Ness asked. "I seem to recall something quite large that still needs to be taken care of. Something about a tracker, perhaps?"

"But if I do that, then Fassad would-" Dr. Andonuts began to say, but suddenly the door opened. Ness turned to see an army of Pigmask Majors and Fassad himself walking inside the room.

"I thought that you two wouldn't be _stupid_ enough to come back," Fassad spat. "I was wrong."

 _...I really should have seen this coming,_ Ness thought.

"F-Fassad!" Andonuts said nervously. "I-I was just stalling them so you could get to them, sir!"

To his credit, at least Claus managed to snap out of his shock enough to acknowledge the danger they were currently in.

"Fassad…" He said in a tone that Ness wasn't sure if it was despair, nervousness or something else entirely.

"Quiet, traitor," Fassad muttered.

"Because passing out on the battlefield constitutes someone as a traitor," Ness mumbled under his breath.

"I… I didn't betray you," Claus said. "I never turned my back or attacked you, Fassad, why call me a traitor? I came back to base, along with Ness, just like I always do."

"Fine," Fassad said in a tone that indicated that he didn't believe Claus. "Then why are you here? Why did you bring Ness back?"

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do? Return to base and bring Ness back?" Claus asked. "I was not given any orders to do anything else."

Dr. Andonuts looked like he wanted to say something, but appeared to be conflicted about it.

"Please," Fassad replied with a chuckle. "You knew that he attacked us and sided with the enemy."

"I… I did no such thing," Claus argued.

"You wanted your tracker removed, didn't you?" Dr. Andonuts suddenly said.

"Way to go, genius," Ness said, rolling his eyes. "We told that straight to your face and you managed to realize it several minutes later. If that's all it takes to get a PHD, then all of the pigmasks should quit their job and go to school."

Fassad let out his infamous laugh before he said, "What most geniuses lack are common sense in case you didn't know, you annoying child! So you came here to try and get the good doctor to remove your tracker, huh? I knew it was only a matter of time before the child corrupted you beyond control, now you're malfunctioning to the point of betraying us."

Ness sighed inwardly. Did he need to get into another argument with this man?

Claus gave a glare to Fassad, "Can you really call it malfunctioning, Fassad? If what Dr. Andonuts said is true, then I've always been… a real human, even after being reconstructed."

"...Oh," Fassad said with a sigh. "That." He turned to the band of pigmasks behind him. "Kill them."

Adrenaline rushed through Ness' system. He held his hands out towards the pigmasks.

"I can kill you without having to get close to you," Ness said with a cold smile. "And trust me, I will."

 _Will I?_ Ness thought. _Can I really take another person's life, knowing that I would probably be no different from them if I were raised in the same environment?_

"You're going to try and kill us now?" Claus frowned. "Why? I don't understand, why do you want to kill us just because I said I'm a real human being?"

"Because you'll never be obedient again," Fassad said with a sad smile. "I know how it works. If you live, we'll brainwash you again. Think of it as… a rebirth. If you want to join us, the time is now. Perhaps I should take Ness as well…"

"Bud," Ness hissed. "We have to get out of here! I'd bet a thousand dollars that those pigmasks have one of those nets that can neutralize us."

As if on cue, one of the Pigmask Majors shot out a net at them. Ness gritted his teeth as they didn't have time to dodge it, but it was suddenly sliced in half. Claus glared as he held his lightning sword, it gave a dangerous crackle as the pair of half the net fell to his side.

"I was trained to be the loyal tool of Master Porky… but even I still have the basic instinct to survive. If you attack to kill, I won't hesitate to defend myself," Claus hissed coldly, sending a chill down Ness's spine. He had seen Claus be emotionless, but seeing him this angry… this cold, it was unnerving… and he could swear he saw Claus's red eye glowing.

The pigmasks took a step back.

"Ah, so now we are at a stalemate," Fassad said. "I guess that we'll just have to… wait."

"Do you know how we can get out of here?" Ness whispered. "In this stalemate, we lose. But wait… we still need to remove your tracker."

Claus turned to Dr. Andonuts and said in a cold, demanding tone, "What location of my body is the tracker planted in?"

Dr. Andonuts gasped at the sudden attention Claus was giving him, a rather intimidating one. "I-it's-"

"Don't tell him! We need that tracking device in him!" Fassad snapped.

"Ah," Ness said. "I do not envy your position, doctor. Two teenagers with the power to blast you to bits or a boss that can send soldiers to tear you apart? Which one will you listen to?"

"Nevermind that," Claus hissed suddenly, before looking at Ness. "Can you use a PSI Counter?"

"What?" Ness asked. "I… think that was one of Paula's moves."

"Can you use it or not?" Claus asked him impatiently.

 _Does it sound like it?_ Ness wanted to snap.

"No, I can't," he said.

Claus gave a low growl before shaking his head, "I guess there's no choice then." He turned to Fassad and the Pigmask Majors, they gave a squeal of fear. "So what do you intend to do, Fassad? Just waiting there won't do anything."

"He must have backup," Ness said. A chill ran down his spine as he came to a realization. "You… brainwashed Duster and Kumatora, didn't you? You mean to use them against us."

"Well, well, looks like the smart mouth boy has a brain after all." Fassad clapped.

"Brainwashed…" Claus frowned. "I see, so that's what you did with them. I… already suspected as much..."

Fassad only offered a cold smile.

"So, what's your move?" the Magypsy asked. "Remember, it's only everything that you've ever known that's on the line."

"This place is all I knew…" Claus frowned as he thought back to his life here. "It should've been all I know… and yet knowing… knowing you took a boy and made him into what I am now… I am… conflicted."

"Why should it matter to you if the boy was alive or not?" Fassad asked him. "That shouldn't change the fact you are Master Porky's robot, and that's all you will ever be."

"I hope that you don't believe his propaganda at this point," Ness said. Turning to Dr. Andonuts, "Tell us. How do we remove the tracker?"

Claus turned to Dr. Andonuts and gave him a sad look, "... I know you're… not a bad person. You always took care of me when I had a glitch or malfunction, while everyone else just saw me as a broken toy… you always spoke to me even when you didn't need to. Do you really think you should stay here? Because… It's probably not worth it."

"You don't have a choice, doctor," Fassad said. "If you remove that tracker, _you will die._ "

Dr. Andonuts looked between the two boys and the boss, he was sweating before he shook his head. "I… I don't really want to do this anymore… Porky had taken me away from my home and my son… I had lost hope and just thought working for him is all I could do… but… seeing so many innocent creatures… and a human CHILD no less to have to go through all this… it's inhumane."

"Claus," Ness whispered, intentionally using Bud's real name. "Can you fly us out of here?"

At first Claus didn't react, but he blinked at Ness, it was a bit sad to see the boy was still unfamiliar with his real name.

"I could do that, yes." He answered.

"Then let's get out of here," Ness replied. Turning to the pigmasks, "PK Rockin alpha."

Lights of primary color flew into existence, passing over the pigmasks like a wave. None of them looked seriously injured, but Ness couldn't afford to check and make sure.

Claus frowned as he looked at Fassad and the Pigmasks, people he had come to know as his superiors and whom he must be loyal too, it was almost surreal that he was doing this at all. The boy activated his jetwings and grabbed Ness, who grabbed Dr. Andonuts' arms and Claus flew to the nearest window. The window was closed, so he had to bust through it with a loud CRASH! It made him unstable in the air.

"Hold… onto Andonuts," Ness said. "And let me fall. I'll be fine, and you two need to get out of here as soon as possible."

That comment only made Claus's grip tighten on Ness, the boy made it clear he was not going to let him fall. Claus hissed as he was trying to stable his flight without dropping anyone.

"Seriously," Ness said. "If you let me fall, I'll survive without a scratch. We can meet up in Tazmily."

"How can you survive? We're too high! You'll die if I let you go!" Claus yelled over the wind current.

"Psionic stall," Ness answered. "Didn't I explain it to you? I'll delay the damage and heal it up."

"..." Claus frowned, Ness sighed, since the boy had never seen the psionic stall in action before, he's not sure if he could believe that. This was another hurdle for Claus; can he trust his friend enough to let him go when he says to?

"Please," Ness begged. "If Andonuts dies, then you'll _never_ get to remove the tracker. Day and night, you'll live knowing that Fassad is recording everything that you say. You think that you can carry us both, but what if you can't?"

"I-I can!" Claus argued, but they were still spiraling around and getting too close to the ground. "I… I just have to be stronger…! Ness, you're the only reason I'm even doing all this! I can't just lose you! Without you, I'd… I'd just be..."

"I'm not going to make you do anything," Ness said, "But I will be _fine_ if you let me go."

Claus and Ness gave each other a look, Ness giving him a pleading one to trust him and Claus looking doubtful and fearful. After a minute of this, Claus's expression change, he gave a more confident look before nodding to him. "Fine… I… I will trust you, Ness. I will… see you again in Tazmily Village."

Ness smiled, even though he knew that Claus probably wasn't looking. He swung Dr. Andonuts up into Claus' other arm. The former pigmask commander latched onto Dr. Andonuts' wiry arm. Ness favored Claus with a sad smile.

Then he let go.

He fell through the sky, feeling the wind bat against his skin. The ground grew closer, but Ness didn't feel afraid. For the first time in his life, he was really _flying!_ It seemed so simple, but it meant the world to Ness. Falling through the sky of his own accord, Ness felt a sense of freedom that he hadn't experienced since before Porky captured him.

 _I didn't know that it was possible to feel this good,_ he thought.

Ness hit the ground, feeling surprisingly little pain.

"Lifeup gamma!" he shouted.

There. That should keep him alive.

"Teleport Beta!" he shouted, focusing on the image of a small town in the middle of an industrial invasion.

Ness opened his eyes. He was in Tazmily, and the sun was rising in the distance. He turned around him to see…

"Ninten!" he exclaimed. "And Lucas! Long time no see, huh?"

Ninten was on the ground and looked to be in pain before he glared at Ness, "What's with the casual greeting!? You show up out of nowhere and RAN OVER ME!"

"Err… sorry," Ness said with a weak shrug. "Teleport just… kinda does that. Do you need me to heal you?"

"He's fine," Lucas replied with a smirk. "He was already in a bad mood before, and your little… arrival didn't help."

"I was NOT in a bad mood!" Ninten snapped. "I was just… making insightful comments on why today hasn't been the best! … Ness, where is Claus? Wasn't he with you?"

"'Was' being the operative word," Ness replied. "He should show up soon. What have you two been up to?"

Lucas' mouth twisted into a sneer.

"Fassad captured Fuel, and we still don't know why," he said. "We tried to follow him, but Fassad handed Fuel off to a group of pigmasks and took off in a ship. He looked worried about something. Fuel's still here, I think. Did you and Claus do something?"

"Uh… you could say that," Ness said with a guilty smile.

"And after they took off, guess what happened? Just guess." Ninten gave a very irritated looking smile, like he was just ready to explode at any moment.

"Something that _doesn't_ have to do with me appearing out of nowhere and running into you?" Ness asked innocently.

"Thanks for the reminder," Ninten growled. "No, the jerks threw out some garbage and it landed on top of me! We're not talking a simple banana peel or an apple core either! I'm talking the WHOLE TRASH CAN! And Lucas didn't do anything but watch! And then I slipped on a banana peel and landed face first into mud! Then Boney came and kept licking my face with his bad dog breath, then you suddenly came in and ran me over!"

"To be fair," Lucas said with a poorly concealed smile. "Most of that could have been avoided if you _hadn't_ snooped around in the garbage dump."

"We weren't near a garbage dump!" Ninten yelled hotly. "It looked that way because those pig people kept throwing their garbage in that area!"

Lucas rolled his eyes at Ness, as if to say, _See what I have to put up with?_

"I saw that expression, Lucas!" Ninten snapped, still looking pretty ticked off.

"So Ness," Lucas said, clearly trying to change the topic. "How was _your_ day?"

"It was…" Ness trailed off, feeling pain once again overwhelm his legs. "Gah!"

He fell to the ground, vaguely hearing Lucas gasp.

Ninten, anger all drained suddenly, came to his look-alike's side and frowned, "What happened?"

"Stupid… endorphins… couldn't… last… longer," Ness wheezed.

"What? Ness what's wrong?" Ninten frowned, obviously not understanding his words. "Do you need healing?"

"I'll… be… fine," Ness managed to get out. "Body… still… thinks… I'm… hurt."

"What did you _do_ to yourself?" Lucas asked, although Ness had to strain to make out those words over the pain.

"..." Ness bit down on his shirt, not feeling capable of more speech.

Ninten frowned in concern, before they heard what sounded like a machine of some kind in the sky, coming in closer. "Hey, what's that?"

Something came in closer and closer towards them, but it was falling at rapid speed that Ninten feared some kind of meteor was going to crash into them. "Lucas! Ness! Something's coming right at us! I think it's going to crash into us!"

Ness registered even more pain as Lucas dragged him away.

 _Do I even want to know what this flying thing is?_ Ness asked himself. _Probably not._

When it came in closer, they noticed it was not a thing, but a person. The person in question was falling, and holding onto someone else. They heard what sounded like a man yelling.

"SNAP OUT OF IT! WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!"

At the last second, the person managed to spin them around, and the smaller person landed first, cushioning the bigger man, before both of them bounced a bit on the ground. The bigger person was on his back, while the smaller one was lying facedown. Ness' vision had cleared up enough to see these two people clearly.

"What in the world?" Lucas asked nobody in particular.

"Isn't that…?" Ninten's eyes were wide.

Ness paled when he noticed the two people… Dr. Andonuts and Claus. Claus was lying facedown and he could see his robotic wings were bent and a bit burnt… was he attacked while flying back?

Lucas was the first to run to Claus, checking to make sure he was okay. Ninten stayed with Ness. Dr. Andonuts sat up, he didn't look all that injured, but he was worried.

"I'm sorry… something… something happened to the boy…" Andonuts said in a grim tone.

"Lifeup alpha!" Lucas exclaimed, laying his hands on Claus. "Healing alpha!"

There was no response, Claus still laid there as lifeless as when he first crashed.

"What's wrong with him?" Ninten asked, feeling scared and worried for Lucas.

"His mind… he just suddenly… shut down in the middle of our flight. And we got attacked while in midair." Andonuts answered.

 _Hey, all of the pain is gone,_ Ness realized. _I guess my body realized that it's fine._

"And you lived?" Ness asked, his eyes bugging out of his skull.

"I managed to get Claus to snap out of it a few times enough to maneuver out of the danger zone, but then he shut down again and we were falling." Andonuts said. "I don't know what's wrong with him… was it because of…" he hesitated. "It could be the tracker… it did serve one other function that I had forgotten to mention…"

"What function is that?" Ninten dared to ask.

"It can shut off the brain of its host," was the grim answer.

"But… how?" Ness asked.

"Because it's located in his brain, it can also control the electric pulses a human brain have." Andonuts said. "Look, I don't have time to explain it all, if we want to save the boy then I have to remove it right away."

"Well then please go ahead," Ness said. "Do you need any PSI assistance?"

"I'm going to need some healers for the aftermath." Andonuts quickly said. "And does anyone know how to use electricity? It would definitely help shut off the device before it becomes lethal."

"Nope," Ness said. "Only he did."

"It seems I'll have to work with what I've got. Everyone stay close in case I need emergency healing. Can anyone manipulate healing into the human brain? He might need that." Andonuts quickly asked.

Lucas and Ninten both looked hesitant on that, which wasn't all that surprising since Lucas had little experience with PSI and Ninten has amnesia.

"Err… what exactly do you mean?" Ness asked. "I guess that the answer is probably no. I can't mess with neurons and stuff."

Andonuts sighed before nodding, "Okay, I guess we'll stick to healing. If one of you can put someone to sleep, we could use that in case he suddenly wakes up." He dug out his tools from his pockets. "It's lucky that I have all of the right tools with me. Pigmask technology allows us to do amazing things, misused as it often is. Let's begin the procedure…"


	19. Chapter 19: Pink Police Station

**Connor: Hello, everyone? If you're in high school like me, finals are probably either starting or right around the corner. Fun times, huh? ;)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Well good luck with that. I know how stressful those could be. ^^' Well, shall we get right to the point?**

 **Connor: All right; let's respond to the reviews! :D**

 **Shimo no ko:** **Connor:** Yeah, patience is good. :) And if you like reading, I'm sure that you know that actual books are a thing. Most of them are way better than the stuff that I write. I can give you recommendations, but I really only read fantasy, so… yeah. xD I think that Lucas is just accepting that everything around him is a little crazy. :) You can only get shocked so many times before you get used to it, after all. And the sentence isn't really run-on since you're listing things. :) Ah, thanks! I hope that you enjoy this chapter **!**

 **DarkFoxKit:** Believe it or not, many geniuses tend to lack common sense that people have, so they can seem pretty idiotic by missing the obvious. ^^' And Ninten's been having a rotten day, emphasis on the 'rotton'.

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** Ninten being angry was apparently the highlight of the last chapter. XD And ask Connor about Stanely Milgram, I don't know anything about it. ^^'

 **Connor:** I learned about him in Psychology class recently before writing that chapter and I thought that it played well into how Claus puts such a high value on orders from his superior. :)

 **Guest:** **Connor:** Skipping that part. *shudders* I'm not comfortable with drilling holes into people's heads. Although, if the tracker was already inserted, then it should be pretty simple to pull it back out… Why am I only considering this now? xD

 **crabbyTomato:** **DarkFoxKit:** Yeah, the Fanfiction eating up reviews drove me crazy. ^^' But at least it's gone now. I'm not sure what you mean by not much happened in the chapter since everyone's gathered together and Claus is having brain surgery. And again with the whole geniuses lacking common sense thing. Ninten's really having a bad day it seems. XD And well if Fassad shut down Claus's heart, he would've been dead before they could save him. ^^'

 **Connor:** Well, you can survive for a little while (read: not long) without a heart. You know, your brain just eats up your remaining oxygen like a ravenous monster and dies pretty quickly. ;) Yeah, Milgram actually went through with the experiment because of what the Nazis did. He wanted to prove that most people were different from the Nazis and would never follow through with orders like what happened during the holocaust… turns out that wasn't the case. O.O And yeah, my response (via Ness) to Dr. Andonuts saying that was basically the same thing. And Claus already has a hole in his head because the pigmasks needed to put it in. Wow, this is getting a little grotesque. Science is scary.

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** **DarkFoxKit:** You're mad? That doesn't sound good. Everyone's really harping on Dr. Andonuts for not catching the obvious. ^^' Lack of common sense can do that to a person, even the smart ones. And Fassad is Fassad, so yeah, he doesn't need to be justified. And it was a really bad day for poor Ninten. XD And well we just skipped the surgery since I'm not really a science nerd, and just leave it up to the imagination.

 **Connor:** Yeah, cutting into people isn't really my idea of an enviable profession imo, no matter _how_ much surgeons make. And hey, reviews are supposed to be informal! Don't worry about it! :D And you edit your reviews? ...That's dedication right there. xD I can hardly bring myself to edit these chapters (I'm a bit more motivated in Ceres because I have more control over what I can actually change). See you later! :D

 **A Fan:** **DarkFoxKit:** Well try to think about it this way; Connor and I write two protagonists from their own games. Connor writes for Lucas (Mother 3) and Ness (EarthBound/Mother 2) while I write for Claus (Mother 3) and Ninten (EarthBound Beginnings/Mother). And the lab scene might've had a too many things happening at once. ^^' And Fassad couldn't really do anything because Ness fired his PK Rockin on them, I'd imagine they'd be pretty disorientated from that. We'll have more on Fuel later. And uh… thanks for the plug?

 **Connor:** Yep, your analysis of Fassad is pretty much correct in that he basically wants to stop the protags. Super unimaginative villain and we both know that. :) So yes, he was after something by capturing Fuel. And Fox is a "she." ;)

 **jb** **: Connor:** Aw, thanks! :D

* * *

It felt so quiet and cold… but then it became warm. For a while, the boy didn't want to move in fear that once he did, he would wake up back at Fassad's house and be punished by the shock collar again. The boy realized, however, that this fear was illogical. If he had messed up then he must face his rightful punishment.

With that thought in mind, the boy slowly opened his eyes his eyes, trying to readjust back to his cold reality. However, the warm feeling didn't disappear, and the boy found himself in an unfamiliar yet strangely nostalgic place. The boy wasn't lying in a lab or on the ground in some room like he thought, instead he was lying in a comfortable thing that was soft but firm, and a fabric that was placed on top of him, and he appeared to be in some kind of wooden building.

Confused, the boy slowly sat up, trying to get his bearings, "Where…?"

"Claus!" he heard Lucas exclaim. "You're all right!"

The boy almost jump at the sudden voice, a voice he didn't think he would hear again once he woke up, "O-oh, it's you… I guess you're real after all."

"I'm… real?" Lucas asked, a quizzical expression popping onto his face. "Why would I not be?"

"I just thought everything that happened might've been…" The boy paused, could he have enough of an organic brain inside him to call it a dream? "... a simulation." he finally answered.

Lucas sighed.

"I guess that I could see that," he said. After a second, he perked up. "Hey, you should head outside. The others will be glad to know that you're okay!"

"They would…? I guess so…" It was like the boy had forgotten how to talk properly, but he felt rather unsure how to interact with humans like this. After all, he was used to just being the commander after all. "Your name is… Lucas, correct?"

Lucas flinched.

"...Yeah," he answered.

"And… your twin brother's name was Claus, correct?" The boy asked, though Lucas hadn't given a verbal response, the boy didn't really need one. "I… remember seeing you two always being together."

Lucas nodded.

"Well, it's good that you remember _a little_ of who you were," Lucas said. "I still hope that I can get you back... but that's not possible, is it?"

"I don't know… he's… supposed to be dead, but…" The boy felt uncomfortable, "Where's Dr. Andonuts? And Ness? Are they still here?"

"Yeah, they're outside," Lucas said. "Come on; we should tell them that you're okay!"

Lucas's cheerful attitude was enough to get the boy to move out of the bed; something about Lucas's smile just made him feel warm inside, but the boy did his best to ignore it. The two of them walked through the wooden building, which the boy realized was too small to be a building, so it was easy to say it's a house instead.

Once outside of the house, the boy could see a few people in the distance, but what caught his immediate attention was a brown dog, barking at them with its tail wagging happily.

 _"_ _Hey, Claus,"_ the dog said. _"Never thought that you'd come back! Flint and Lucas were worried sick when you disappeared two years ago!"_

The boy looked at the dog as it barked happily to him, thanks to his PSI he is able to understand animals too, but it still surprised him, after all, the boy never really spoke to animals, and chimeras were never one for conversations.

"Your dog seems happy to see me…" The boy said to Lucas, though he knew why.

"Of course he is," Lucas replied. "Can't you understand him?"

"If you mean that I can understand his barks as if they were words, yes, I can," the boy answered.

"Well, then you clearly know why he's happy to see you," Lucas said. "Unless you can't even grasp basic implications, which I hope isn't the case."

"You hope that _isn't_ the case?" the boy asked.

"I hope that you being _unable_ to grasp implications isn't the case," Lucas said with a smile. "still getting a little used to word logic, are we?"

 _"_ _Whew! Where have you been all this time, Claus? You reek of machinery and chemicals! Did Lucas put you through the factory or something because you left him for so long?"_ The dog gave a whine.

"Hilarious, Boney," Lucas said sarcastically. "Truly, your jokes are the pinnacle of wit."

The boy couldn't help but give a small smile, what the dog- Lucas called Boney, just said was pretty funny, and the two of them interacted almost like the best of friends would.

The boy then looked around the area before he said, "This place… it has a strange nostalgic feel to it for me. And yet… I can't help but feel like it's missing something."

"Missing something?" Lucas asked with a frown. "I don't know what you mean. Hurry up; we have to make it to Ness and Ninten. They're probably worried about you."

The boy looked at Lucas before nodding, the two of them hurried down the dirt path and into the village, which had a much more modern look than the area they were in earlier.

There they found Ness and Ninten talking to each other, though whatever they were discussing might've been important because they were talking rather quietly to each other.

"I'm telling you, Ninten!" Ness exclaimed with a stupid grin, his voice suddenly growing loud. "We use PSI to paint the inside of the police station pink. Bright, hot pink. And then after that, everyone will be so focused on the oh-so-painful-to-look-at pink that we can do whatever we want. I'm a genius!"

"Why would you even want to paint the inside of a police station pink? They'll arrest you for that!" Ninten grumbled and facepalmed, probably couldn't believe he had to deal with Ness's… unique personality. "How the heck did you survive with that kind of attitude anyways?"

"See, they won't know that it's me painting the station," Ness said in an oddly logical tone. "Paula pulled that prank on me a few months ago and I've been meaning to do it to someone else ever since then. She used a simple PSI ability that didn't even drain any of her energy. Hm… maybe I could add flowers and cartoon animals to enhance the image."

"In that case I'm glad I don't live here then," Ninten grumbled. "You are such a troublemaker."

The boy couldn't help but watch the two, they looked so much alike yet their personalities were different. The scene reminded the boy of that memory he had of Lucas and Claus, when they were together Claus would always joke around while Lucas was more of the grump between the two. The boy couldn't help but chuckle at that memory, though he didn't realize he was chuckling. Ness turned around and beamed at seeing Claus.

"Claus!" Ness exclaimed. "You're okay! I was worried that Ninten would give off bad vibes if he was watching you recover, so I tactically removed him from the scene. I hope that my sacrifice does not go unnoticed."

"It can't go unnoticed because you're not giving us a fair chance to ignore it," Lucas muttered.

"And besides, you only pulled me out because you got hungry and wanted to eat at the bakery, but you didn't have money so you took me there to get a discount," Ninten grumbled. "I knew I shouldn't have mentioned I worked there to you."

"It was all part of my elaborate plan," Ness said with a mock air of mystery.

"Ness, what happened to me?" The boy spoke up, "I mean the last thing I remember was flying to Tazmily with Dr. Andonuts, and the next thing I know I was waking up in Lucas's house."

"Porky tried to shut off your brain," Ness said. "Evidently, it didn't work."

"... He did? Was it because of my disobedience?" The former Commander frowned.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Ness said. "But you don't need to worry about that… Okay, maybe you need to worry about it a little. But don't worry; we're here for you."

"Um… what about that tracker and Dr. Andonuts?"

"The tracker was removed; don't worry about that," Ninten said. "You probably don't want to hear the details. And Dr. Andonuts… I'm not sure, he just said he had to go somewhere."

"Are you alright, Bud?" Ness asked. "If there's anything wrong, I might be able to help you with it."

The boy looked up at Ness, "I just… I don't know, I feel like I lost my identity and now I don't have one anymore. If Master Porky tried to kill me, then I am not welcomed back into the Pigmasks, right? I don't know what to do."

"Well, feel free to take your time," Ness said, offering a supportive smile. "As much as I would love to help, this is one of those things that you have to come to grips with on your own. Just know that you _do_ have another shot at life. While I respect your right to choose what to do, it would be a shame if you squandered this chance."

"Maybe Lucas can help show you around, maybe give you an idea who you were like before the Pigmasks got their hands on you," Ninten suggested. "I mean Lucas is your brother after all, right?"

Bud looked over at the blond haired boy beside him, "Lucas… was indeed Claus's brother, that much I know. The two of them really loved and cared about each other, but Claus died two years ago… I'm not Claus, and I don't know if I ever could be."

"What makes you so sure that Claus died?" Ness asked.

"I saw him die to the Mecha Drago…" Bud answered.

"You saw him?" Ninten asked. "Or you remembered that?"

"I… I'm not sure…" Bud hesitated.

"But that doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Ness said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Your body frame seems intact. How did you… how did _he_ die to that thing, anyway?"

"It felt so vivid… the Mecha Drago bit his arm and slammed its tail right into his face, and he fell off the cliff," Bud said. "That's all I remember seeing."

"But he had PSI," Ness said. "It's not like that would automatically kill him. I've suffered worse than that, and I'm still here."

"You did? What did you even do?" Ninten asked curiously.

Bud looked up at Ness, "Wait… you actually did survive that fall earlier, how did… you mentioned psionic stall, right? In my two years of activation I have never heard or seen such a technique before, not even Fassad said anything about it, and he was my PSI mentor."

"Huh," Ness said, seeming to ignore Ninten's question. "Like I said, it's a pretty natural technique. But even if he didn't have his psionic stall, Claus might have survived the fall. PSI-users are tough. But even if he didn't, even if he died, you're still him. You have his body, you have his brain, and you have his memories. There's really nothing separating you two."

"You still didn't answer my question," Ninten grumbled. "Knowing you, you almost got hurt over a dare or something."

"Well… you got me here in Tazmily Village, now what happens next?" Bud asked, feeling very clueless without any of his superiors to give him orders.

"Ninten, saying that I got hurt would be a stretch," Ness said, letting himself smile. "I was fine. I even got to see dinosaurs, which was super cool… until they tried to kill me, at least." Ness coughed. "But that doesn't matter. Bud… _Claus…_ Ninten and I are planning to bust Fuel out of the jail. The pigmasks shouldn't be able to muster all of their troops for a while, but we have to move quickly. You can come with us if you want to, but I would suggest sticking behind with Lucas. You two have a lot of catching up to do."

Bud sighed before looking at Lucas, who was looking at him with puppy dog eyes. Bud couldn't help but experience a brief flashback of a younger Lucas doing the same. "I'll… stay here with Lucas. I still don't think I'm Claus, but if it'll make him feel better I'll stay with him. Besides, I still don't want to go against the Pigmasks if I don't have to."

"All right," Ness said. "Enjoy yourself, all right? In the meantime, I need to convince Ninten that turning the walls of the police station bright pink is a practical use of our time."

"I'm not a troublemaker like you are!" Ninten snapped in irritation.

While those two were arguing, Lucas took Bud by the hand and started leading him around the village.

"Where are we going?" Bud asked Lucas.

"I want to take you to see mom's grave," Lucas said. "We spent so much time together after she died. Maybe it's silly, but… I think that we might be able to rediscover some of that."

"... If she starts talking to me again, I'm going somewhere else," Bud said as the two head off to the graveyard.

* * *

Ninten couldn't help but feel annoyed. Though the two had met and talked before, this is the first time they truly interacted with each other, and Ness, although he looked identical to him, was very different from Ninten himself, or so Ninten believed considering he still doesn't have his memories.

"We're just going to get in, get Fuel, and get out. Why go through the trouble of making the police station pink?" Ninten asked.

"I'm mostly joking," Ness said, flashing a grin. "Mostly. But honestly, we are going to have to approach this with some finesse. I don't think that it would be good if Fassad saw us. I don't know about you, but I would rather not have an army of tanks chasing us."

"I hadn't seen Fassad here since you and Claus got back, but you're right in saying we should be careful not to get spotted. So what's your plan, genius? You know, other than painting the place pink," Ninten said, crossing his arms.

"Honestly?" Ness said. "No idea. The whole town will probably be crawling with cops. How do we explain that we want to go into the prison when we're both wanted? Unless… it's possible that the regular cops don't know who we are, but I don't want to risk that if we have to."

"So you don't have a plan…" Ninten sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well then, I guess we could either go in disguise or try to be stealthy about it, which will it be?"

"Doesn't matter to me," Ness said. "I'm more worried about getting out than getting in. How are we going to get Fuel out of there without burning the whole place down? Any ideas?"

"The fact that you have the power to even burn the place down really scares me," Ninten said sheepishly. "Well… hmm… perhaps using your pink paint idea may come in handy after all. It can be used as a distraction when we're trying to sneak Fuel out of there. With your PSI you could probably use it to cause some lightings in a distant to draw the cops over there to check it out."

"Hah!" Ness said. "I was right all along!" His expression reverted back to contemplative. "Say… you don't happen to have any rust promoters on you, do you?"

"... They don't sell those here," Ninten said slowly. "Why do you need one?"

"What do you think?" Ness asked with a smirk. "Fuel's going to be behind bars. We need some way to get him out there. The thing about jails is that they're designed to trap people in."

For some reason, Ninten felt a bit agitated at that. "Sometimes cops just put you in jail for no other reason than to take away your lucky bat and then spit in your face about it. And no, unfortunately I don't have anything that could rust metal bars. Couldn't your PK Rockin' tear through those? Or any of your other PSI moves weaken the bars in anyway?"

"Nah," Ness said. "PK Rockin is too wild. It would probably take out Fuel along with the bars. My other PSI moves… nope, nothing. I don't suppose that you have anything that could work?"

"I don't remember most of my own PSI moves," Ninten sighed. "I guess we'll have to search for the keys if we hope to get Fuel out of there. They usually keep the keys near the cell… right? We just have to find them. So… are we doing this tonight or right now?"

"Tonight," Ness said. "Unless we come up with a really good plan. I'm somewhat of a worrywart, so I prefer to have a guaranteed method of actually smuggling Fuel out. To me, we should aim for more than just 'look for the keys.' So please, bear with my paranoia for a few minutes. Is there anything similar to a rust promoter that exists in this world?"

Ninten sighed and thought about it, then he remembered something he picked up a while back, but just thought it was trash. "Oh, there was something, but I hadn't used it or anything. I just picked it up because it was lying on the ground…"

The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out what appears to be some kind of watergun. "I think there's still water in it."

"A water gun?" Ness asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Duster called it a Saltwater Gun, apparently he and Wess used it before at some point. Do you think this would be good to rust out metal?" Ninten asked.

"Not unless that's some special kind of salt," Ness said. "...Which it probably is, right? Otherwise, It wouldn't really be useful to Duster."

"I probably should've asked him more about it at the time. Well it's better than just looking for the keys, right? Is there anything else we should do?" Ninten asked. "Distractions are key for this, heck even if one of us get caught, they probably would be confused to see another one of us somehow in a different location."

"That _is_ a bonus!" Ness exclaimed, his face lighting up. "It almost makes me want to get caught just to see what would happen. Almost."

"Please don't," Ninten sweatdrop. "Okay, I guess we better get ready for a jailbreak tonight then."

"Yeah," Ness said. "My 'getting ready' is probably going to involve a nap. Do you want to join me?"

"No thanks, I have something I want to do before we go through with this. I'll meet up with you later when it's dusk," Ninten said with a small smile.

"Ah, I can actually see _excitement_ on your face!" Ness exclaimed. "It must be pretty important to you. Or maybe I'm completely wrong. Either way, have fun!"

"It's important…" Ninten hesitated. "But don't worry about it, you go ahead and rest. I'll be back before we leave."

With that said, Ninten head into the woods just outside the village, thinking to himself. _What else can I use? I don't want to be the one who's the weak link._

The hours past, and before long the sun was starting to set, and evening was upon the village. Ninten was panting as he tried to focus.

 _Okay, just one more try and then I'll go get Ness…_

Ninten closed his eyes and concentrate, "Please work…"

Then he pointed at a boulder and shouted, "PK Beam!" His hand released a powerful white beam of energy, but he recoiled back and yelped, losing control of the beam as it shot at a branch of a tree instead of the intended target, and completely vaporized the branch into ash.

Ninten fell on his butt on the ground and sighed, "Still no good…"

"That's one heck of a PSI power that you have there," Ninten heard from behind him.

He turned around to see Ness flashing a smile, not seeming fazed by Ninten's new PSI.

"I wonder where all of the energy in the branch goes when you turn it into ash," Ness said. "Because it's not like you're burning anything. Shouldn't there be heat released somewhere? I guess it doesn't matter. You ready to go?"

Ninten nodded as he stood up, "I was just going to get you after that last shot. I discovered I could use an offensive PSI, but I'm really bad at using it it seems… It isn't as wild as your PK Rockin, and not as explosively massive as PK Love, it's more of a straight beam that turns thing to ash. I was hoping maybe I could use that to destroy the bars in case the Saltwater Gun is a bust, but I can't control it very well and I don't want to accidentally turn Fuel into ash."

"Yeah, turning Fuel to ash is not ideal," Ness said. "And in the worst case scenario, we can always leave and come back. I couldn't find any disguises for us, so we'll just have to use our own wits to work through this. And I hope that you have some of those, because I'm not sure if I do."

"You sell yourself short, Ness. You have enough wits to come up with pranks after all," Ninten chuckled. "Well, I guess we'll go for the stealthy route… how are we going to communicate with each other if we have to hide in separate places?"

"We're psychics, Ninten," Ness said. "Might as well use our telepathy powers for _something._ "

"Oh… right, telepathy," Ninten blushed from embarrassment. "It's just… I only used it once… and on someone who was at blank range, I don't know how to use it to just communicate, and from a distance…"

"Huh," Ness said. "You don't? Don't you ever chat with your psychic friends during school when the teacher isn't saying anything interesting?"

"... Ness… amnesia, remember?" Ninten said with a deadpanned look. "Maybe I could try testing it out now to make sure I can do it…"

"Sure," Ness said. "Let's give it a try."

Ninten decided to send a simple message to Ness in his head.

 _"_ _Ness, do you prefer blue or red?"_

"Blue," Ness said. "It's proven to be psychological calming and provoke creative thinking. Looking at the blue sky was how I came up with the idea to paint the police office pink."

"Heh, you just love to talk don't you?" Ninten chuckled. "But that was informative. I just figured you liked red more because your hat is red. It looks like I'm able to use telepathy for talking, which is good. Now shall we get going? I'm pretty sure the village is going on lockdown soon."

"Yeah, let's go," Ness said. "...And I don't like to talk _that_ much."

Ninten kept chuckling and said, "Hey, I like that you talk, it just reminds me of someone I've forgotten. She always liked being informative, but also easy going."

As soon as the two of them got back into the village, the sun went down in the horizon, darkening the sky. All the villagers already closed their doors, and Pigmasks were starting to roam around the place, no doubt looking for troublemakers who break the rules.

 _"_ _Act like you deserve to be here,"_ Ninten heard in his head. _"I mean, try to hide, but don't look like you're trying to hide. Geez, this place is crawling with pigmasks. Why didn't you stop me from picking nighttime to do this, Ninten?"_

 _"_ _Because… it's more fun this way,"_ Ninten replied back with telepathy. _"Seriously though, doing it in broad daylight wouldn't be much better."_

 _"_ _Only teasing,"_ he heard.

Ninten squat down near a building to keep away from the Pigmask's sight. He saw Ness going forward before diving behind a flower pot outside.

 _"_ _Not even close,"_ Ness said. _"Man, I need to stop wasting my psychic power by chatting with you."_

 _"_ _I've used up a lot of my own practicing PK Beam. Let's only talk if we need to from here on out,"_ Ninten replied back.

The two identical boys carefully moved from building to flower pots towards the Cerulean Beach, where the jail cell is. So far so good; neither of them had been spotted yet. Ness moved on ahead into the beach while Ninten looked around to make sure the Pigmasks weren't looking his direction before following Ness.

They stopped when they saw two green Pigmasks standing in front of the police station.

 _"_ _How are we going to get past those two without causing trouble?"_ Ninten mentally asked. _"I'd say it's distraction time."_

A few seconds later, the outside of the police station turned bright pink. Even in the dim light, it strained his eyes to look at such a bright color.

 _"_ _Distraction complete!"_ Ninten heard.

The pigmasks continued standing outside the front of the police station, presumably not having noticed the color change.

 _"_ _...You gotta be kidding me."_

 _"_ _Ness… how did you…? Oh nevermind. By distraction I meant using your PSI to light something up so they'd go check it out, not turn the station pink!"_ Ninten mentally yelled.

 _"_ _I used my PSI to light the station up pink so that they would check it out,"_ came the reply. _"It's exactly what you wanted."_

 _"_ _We need to lead them AWAY from the station, meaning not lighting anything ON the station, get it?"_ Ninten retorted back.

 _"_ _Eh,"_ he heard. _"It's kind of the same thing as if they leave the door unguarded to check the station. Fine… here goes an actual distraction."_

A second passed.

 _"_ _Um, actually, I could just knock them out. Should I do that?"_

 _"_ _If you do that then would that alert any Pigmasks passing by that something's amiss?"_ Ninten questioned.

 _"_ _Yes, but the actual distraction would do that too."_

 _"_ _There's two of them, so I take it we both should knock them out simultaneously. Or I guess, you could just use Hypnosis on one and I can use it on the other."_

 _"_ _Oh, yeah. Hypnosis. That's a thing. Sure, let's do that. While we're at it, let's pretend that was my plan all along. I would never use something like PK Flash to alert the entire village."_

 _"_ _You were going to do WHAT now!?"_

 _"_ _It's technically a distraction,"_ Ninten heard. _"And, um… I can use hypnosis on both of them at once. Should I do that?"_

 _"_ _Yes, cause I don't know how to use it… or if I could even use it. But no being fancy!"_

After a few seconds, the pigmasks guarding the door slumped over, fast asleep.

Ninten walked over to the entrance, _"Looks like it's pretty small in there. Hopefully we won't have to worry about anymore Pigmasks."_

As soon as Ninten walked in, he noticed there wasn't much inside. It was just a single jail cell and a table across from it. There wasn't any signs of cops or Pigmasks in the immediate area either.

"Fuel…?" Ninten spoke up a little bit.

"He's a deep sleeper, it seems," Ness whispered. "Let's just go ahead and use that saltwater gun, all right?"

"Right, let's hope this works…" Ninten said before he took out the water gun from his pocket.

Ninten squirted the saltwater gun onto the bars, and almost instantly it rusted over. "Hey, looks like it's working. So what now? Are we supposed to break the bars?"

"Uh… yeah," Ness said. "Can you squirt some near the bottom and top of those bars so that we can yank the middle parts out?"

Ninten bend down and squirted the bottom, instantly rusting those as well. The boy nodded to Ness after he was done. "Alright, ready?"

Ness nodded, pulling the bars out with surprising ease. He even managed to do it without making too much noise.

"Those baseball arm muscles finally coming in handy," Ness whispered. "...Not that baseball gets you ripped or anything."

He stepped into the cell, shaking Fuel awake.

"Wha…" Fuel's eyes shot open. Ness held a finger up to his mouth to indicate that Fuel should stay silent. Fuel looked back and forth between Ness and Ninten, his surprise growing with each second. "Are you twins or something?" he whispered. "Even Claus and Lucas didn't look that much alike."

"We're not twins, and forget about that Fuel, we're here to get you out," Ninten whispered. "And we better hurry, those Pigmasks might know something's wrong if they see two of their guards sleeping on the job."

Fuel nodded. He stepped out of the cell, followed by Ness. The three of them opened the door and stepped outside. Thankfully, Ninten couldn't see any pigmasks except for the sleeping ones who were "guarding" the police station.

"Let's get out of here," Ness whispered. "Teleport Beta."

After swirling for a few seconds, Ninten appeared on the hill with Lucas' house.

"Whoa," Fuel said. "This is where Lucas' house is. Your PSI is so cool! I wish that I could go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted to."

"I didn't know there was a beta version of Teleport," Ninten said as he tried to stop his head from spinning. "And yes, Ness is really cool with his PSI. So are Lucas and Claus."

"And Ninten," Ness said. Whispering loudly enough that Ninten could hear, "He really hates trees. I saw him turn a branch to ash not to long ago."

Fuel blinked at that, and looked at Ninten.

Ninten gave Ness a glare, "I do _not_ hate trees! And why must you tell him that?"

"Kidding, kidding," Ness said, holding his hands up defensively.

"Wait," Fuel said. "You two and Lucas can both use PSI? Is there anyone who _doesn't_ have psychic powers?"

"You don't," Ness said.

"Thanks," Fuel said dryly. "I really needed to know that."

"You're welcome," Ness replied, crossing his arms over his chest triumphantly.

"Ugh… ignore him," Ninten grumbled. "You don't need psychic powers to be special. And anyways, why did the Pigmasks put you in jail? Were you out past curfew or something?"

"Not even," Fuel said. "I honestly don't know why they arrested me. I just stumbled upon this weird looking machine and they seemed to have some sort of problem with that."

"A weird looking machine?" Ninten blinked. "... Fuel, where did you see this machine?"

"It was actually right around here. Do you want me to show you?"

"I would say so," Ness said, looking at Ninten for confirmation. "If the pigmasks threw you in jail just to get you to shut up about it, we should probably be interested in it."

Ninten nodded as he said, "If it's important, then we better see for ourselves what it could be. Fuel, lead the way."


	20. Chapter 20: Time Distorter

**DarkFoxKit: I have a 'new' hand-me-down computer. After my old one sort of broke down, this became necessary. ^^' So how is everyone doing? Is anyone getting sick from this weather? Are you hoping for snow soon?**

 **Connor: Heh, I already had snow. We even got a day of school off! :D But yeah, feel free to answer Fox's questions if you want to. I don't have any more to add because I'm antisocial. Shall we get onto the reviews?**

 **DarkFoxKit: It never hurts to have a little small talk to break out of your shell. ;P But alright, let's get down to business.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko: Connor:** Ness' witiness (wait, is that even a word? :P) knows a very clear bound: my intelligence. And trust me, that falls quite flat at times. Heh, Ninten is way more useful than anyone else in Mother. I mean, Ana has good PSI but she dies so easily. As Fox can attest to, I refuse to write fluffy scenes unless they have some sort of point (because why would I write something with no meaning?). So while there's some of brother fluff, it's not super prevalent since we couldn't find many places to fit it in. Ah, thanks! :D Ah, my bad. I assumed that since you were waiting so urgently for fanfiction, you didn't have anything else similar to distract yourself (since that's how I am). My apologies. Yep, the color thing is really cool. The response to red can likely be traced back to an evolutionary reflex upon seeing blood. A lot of companies use red in logos because it promotes impulsive thinking. Just look at any fast food restaurant's logo.

 **DarkFoxKit:** My characters tend to be the voice of reason. I like poking holes and making fun of stuff in illogical worlds. XD

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** I suppose we hadn't done much for people to remember Fuel being captured. Did you really want us to show the brain surgery? Cause I for one don't like gorey details much. I tolerate it, I just don't really like it. Not saying what's going to happen to Claus, ya just gotta wait until we get there.

 **Guest:** **Connor:** Yeah, he probably could. Emphasis on probably. Ninten just learned how to control PK Beam and Ness didn't want to take any risks. Why take a small risk when you can take no risk instead? :)

 **Other Guest:** ,

 **DarkFoxKit:** Nice. ;P

 **A Fan:** Yeah, because it was in Claus's point of view, however Claus himself haven't decided if that is who he is, and just prefers to be called by the name Ness gave him. So we used 'Bud' to keep it simple. And Connor already did that with Guest. X3 Ask Ness/Connor about the whole police station being pink, I was just acting like Ninten and shouting at Ness for doing that. XD I guess it depends on your meaning of trap. ^^' I'm sure you'll see soon what's going to happen.

Connor: Painting the _outside_ of the police station pink. I based it off of a prank that one of my friends thought up during Dungeons and Dragons. Like Ness said, he was mostly messing with Ninten. And yep, you're right with your prediction. It really isn't that hard to tell, is it? :P Well, I'll take being predictable over being lame any day!

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** **Connor:** Ah, thanks! Midterms are a little different than finals. A school year is divided up into terms (I'm guessing that you're on a trimester schedule?). A midterm is at… well, the middle of the term while a final is at the end. Eh, I like to cut Porky a little bit of slack. After living for thousands of years, it's hard to see people as _people_ instead of tools. What he did clearly wasn't right, but I can see why he did it. Oh yeah, you could totally get arrested for painting the police station pink. Especially if the cops in question are proud and prickly. The job tends to attract people like that. I agree with you on the Claus point. :) I guess he doesn't (I don't write the character haha).

 **DarkFoxKit:** What exactly do you mean? That Claus had memories of being Claus? Or that Claus remembered his early days as the Commander? Claus does remember bits and pieces of his life as Claus, but to him they're just nonexistant dreams that one would easily forget once they wake up. Claus IS still Claus, but he doesn't know that.

Like Connor said; he doesn't really like writing things that doesn't have anything to do with the plot itself. In other words; don't expect a lot of filler from him, that includes things like fluff. And wow, didn't think you're a big fan of tree branches. XD Yeah, I wanted to give Ninten at least one good offensive PSI move, it just kinda felt unbalanced that Ness and Lucas have one but not him. And personally I prefer blue because I just like it better than red, nothing else to it really. ^^'

 **Connor:** I actually do write stuff that has nothing to do with the plot sometimes, but I try to avoid it. :) My rule of thumb is that a scene should develop at least two (preferably three) of the following aspects: plot, character, setting, and overall meaning. For the few fluffy scenes with Claus and Lucas, it's mostly character and overall meaning-focused. :)

* * *

Ness strained his eyes to make out the machine in the distance. Fuel was right; it _did_ look weird. Ness knew next to nothing about engineering, but the way that cords and electrodes were placed seemingly carelessly didn't seem to make much sense.

But then again, Ness hadn't expected anything less from Porky.

 _"_ _Guys,"_ Ness transmitted. _"I sense a PSI-user nearby. Let's be careful, all right?"_

Fuel's jaw dropped, but he luckily didn't decide to cry out. He looked back and forth between Ness and Ninten in confusion until Ness signaled that he was the one who sent the message.

Ninten looked around as if scanning the place before looking back at the machine, frowning.

 _"_ _What do you think this machine could've been used for? It looks like it's been recently used… I think."_ Both boys heard Ninten transmit.

The fact that there was a PSI-user nearby seemed to put Ninten and Fuel on edge, but they didn't move around too much in fear they would be spotted.

 _"_ _...I wonder if the PSI-user can sense us,"_ Ness said.

A burst of flame set the ground beneath Ness on fire, confirming his suspicions. Ness dove and rolled on the ground, using lifeup to heal himself.

 _Alright,_ Ness thought. _Just who's attacking me now?_

"Ness!" He heard Ninten yelp.

In the darkness, Ness could see a red light shining nearby. Then bombs were thrown at them, exploding around the area. Ness could hear Fuel screaming and Ninten coughing in the smoke.

"N-Ness! We have to get out of here!" Ness heard Ninten shouting through the smoke. Then a gasp, "K-Kuma-!? WAH!" Lightning struck from a distance, causing Ninten to yelp in pain.

Ness' battle instincts took over. He rushed towards Ninten, ready to bash some skulls with his baseball bat. He hoped that Fuel had the wisdom to either stay down or run away. As the smoke faded, Ness found himself confronted by two people whom he identified as Duster and Kumatora. While he hadn't known them well before they were brainwashed, he couldn't help but notice the void where their personality used to be. Their faces were made of flesh, but they still managed to look mechanical.

It made Ness want to vomit.

Gritting his teeth, Ness charged forward, attacking Kumatora with his bat. She didn't even try to dodge the blow.

Before Ness's bat could slam into her, he suddenly felt something fast and heavy hit him from the side, causing him to hit the wall instead. Ness groaned as he turned to look at what hit him. Duster was there, looking down at Ness with that same lifeless look Claus used to have.

"Kumatora! Duster! Stop fighting!" Ness heard Ninten yelling.

Looking over, he noticed that Ninten was holding Fuel behind him. Fuel himself looked rather frightened.

Kumatora and Duster turned their attention back to them, neither gave any indication they heard Ninten's voice. Ness looked at the machine… Ninten and Fuel were standing between them and that machine. Kumatora was charging up another PSI attack while Duster was taking out bombs from his pocket.

"Ninten!" Ness shouted. "We can't deal with them, not here. We have to knock them out. PK Rockin Omega!"

The earth rumbled as hexagons flew from Ness' mind, assaulting Duster and Kumatora. Neither of them seemed to care.

"Lifeup," Kumatora whispered, her voice sounding automated.

"Gah!" Ness shouted. "They're using psionic stall to stay alive and Kumatora's healing both of them. We have to restrain them before we knock them out!"

"So we _have_ to fight them!?" Ninten shook his head. "N-no, I can't! They're… they're my friends! I don't think I can fight them…"

Kumatora shot out ice crystals at Ninten and Fuel. Ninten shielded the other boy with his body and hissed out in pain.

"Argh… that's cold…" Ninten groaned.

"Fuel, get out of here!" Ness shouted as he tried to fend of Duster.

"Leg…" Fuel whispered weakly.

Ness didn't have time to look, but he guessed that the fiery explosion burned Fuel's leg.

"Lifeup Omega!" Ness shouted, healing in an area so that he wouldn't have to turn away from his opponent. "Now _go!_ "

Ness didn't hear anything, but he assumed that Fuel was smart enough to listen to him. Duster proved to be far more agile than Ness, weaving in and out of his attacks while landing pointed kicks of his own. Ness knew that he was stronger than Duster, but the man's robot-like mind allowed him to avoid every one of Ness' attacks.

"Ness!" Ness felt someone grab his arm and pulled him.

As soon as Ness was pulled away, lightning struck behind him. Kumatora was powering up a PK Thunder while he was busy with Duster. Ninten had been the one who pulled him to safety.

"I got Fuel into hiding, but…" Ninten hesitated. "Sorry… I never thought I had to fight people I've made friends with… It seems Duster is too fast for you. Don't you have any PSI that can make you go faster or something?"

"Nope," Ness said. "How desperate should I get… ok, screw it! Close your eyes, Ninten!"

"Wai-!"

Ness didn't check to make sure. In battle, a moment's hesitation could cost him his life.

"PK Flash Omega!" Ness shouted, a radiant light emitting from his body.

 _I am an angel of death,_ Ness thought sadly. _There is beauty to PSI, but I use it only to harm._

The light faded to reveal Kumatora and Duster still standing up. While the PK Flash hadn't knocked them out like Ness had hoped, it had at least shaken them.

"What was that!?" Ninten shouted. "I almost went blind!" He was vigorously rubbing his eyes.

"So did they," Ness whispered, too softly for anyone else to hear.

Ness charged forward, tackling Kumatora to the ground. He pinned her hands to the ground with his knees and started smashing her head with his baseball bat.

 _I'm sorry…_ he thought, looking into Kumatora's empty eyes.

"Keep Duster busy!" Ness shouted. "If we can take out Kumatora…"

"He's too fast!" He heard Ninten shouting back and huffing with effort, Ness could imagine Ninten was having trouble trying to keep up with Duster.

"Ugh, if only I could make myself faster! … Quicker… Quick Up!" Ness got the feeling of someone using PSI, and it wasn't coming from Kumatora.

Ness nodded to himself, hoping that Ninten would be able to hold off Duster in his quickened state. He continued bashing Kumatora's face in.

 _I'm sorry,_ Ness thought again. _I wouldn't do this if I saw another choice._

There was a shadow looming over Ness, but it was abruptly removed. Ninten must've tackled Duster down before he could move Ness off Kumatora.

"What…?" Ninten's confused voice spoke up. "Why are you here?"

There was no reply to Ninten.

"Don't ignore me, why are you here!?" Ninten snapped, growing impatient.

There was a loud cracking sound, and that was all Ness heard before Kumatora's eyes closed. With Kumatora taken care of, Ness stood up to see Ninten… talking to thin air?

"Why do you keep saying that!? I don't even know you!" Ninten shouted to the trees. "Don't give me that, it's not my fault I can't remember!"

 _"_ _NINTEN!"_ Ness shouted, his telepathy bordering a mental attack. _"WAKE UP!"_

Duster charged at Ness.

 _Uh-oh._

Ness counter-charged, trying to push his strength against Duster's own. However, Duster danced out of the way at the last second, tripping Ness and sending him falling flat on his face.

 _Gah!_ Ness thought. _Why is this guy so agile? He walks with a freaking limp!_

Duster pounced on Ness' back, holding his hands in place.

 _Not good…_ Ness thought. _Can't get up… Can't use PSI while restrained like this…_

"I… said… SHUT UP!" Ninten screamed before grabbing a thick metal bar and swinging it around wildly, knocking over boxes.

The boy then turned to Duster and Ness, and that was when Ness got a good look at Ninten's eyes… there was something really wrong with them; the pupils were abnormally small and purple.

Ninten ran at Duster and whacked him aside, before glaring over at Ness with seething anger.

"You… you're the cause of this pain, aren't you?" Ninten hissed.

"..."

Clearly, Ninten wasn't in a right state of mind.

"Healing gamma!" Ness shouted, putting his hand on Ninten's chest.

Whatever the problem was, PSI seem to have no effect on it, because Ninten shoved Ness away from him.

"Don't touch me! What do you want from me? I can't remember you, yet you… I know you made me suffer…!" Ninten glared, looking ready to charge at Ness.

Ness took a step back. Was he going to have to fight Ninten?

 _Please, don't make me do this!_ Ness begged.

Right then, Ness heard a blast behind him. He jumped away, seeing that the attack was aimed at Duster rather than him. Thankfully, whatever had hit Duster had knocked him out cold. Ness just hoped that he wouldn't suffer any long-term damage.

"Ness!"

Ness spotted Lucas and Claus running towards him. The blast that had knocked Duster out had probably come from Claus' PSI cannon. Feeling a renewed sense of determination, Ness turned back to face Ninten.

"Do you see them as strangers too?" he whispered.

"W-who…?" Ninten stepped back when the two boys approached.

"They were brainwashed…" Claus said. "We heard a lot of explosions."

Ninten was staring at the three of them, a horrified look on his face, this wasn't a good sign. With his messed up memories and jumbled mind suffering from whatever it is, Ninten would act like a trapped animal.

"Ninten!" Lucas exclaimed. "Are you… okay?"

"Stay away from him," Ness hissed. "If he goes berserk, I don't want him touching either of you. I can take it; like I said, I've survived worse."

Ness took a step forward.

"What's wrong with Ninten?" Claus asked.

Ninten flinched back when Ness took a step forward, "Don't come any closer! I'm warning you!"

"Back off!" Ness shouted at Lucas and Claus. He waited until Lucas and Claus took a step back to speak, "Ninten, who do you see me as?"

"Is this… some kind of joke? You… you're… some kind of alien cat thing… in a big ball… and… you… you're going to kill everyone…" Ninten was shaking, it was like whatever he saw Ness as was something he greatly feared yet don't remember why.

"Ninten…" Ness didn't know what else to say. How could _he_ know what it was like to see his friend as a monster? "...I'm sorry."

Ness charged.

Ninten gasped but easily dodged Ness. He was fast, faster than Duster. The Quick Up must still be in effect. Ninten then glared before swinging the metal bar that he was holding at Ness, who parried the attack with his baseball bat.

"Ness!" Lucas shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Can't you tell?" Ness asked, turning around and looking at Lucas' horrified face. "He's in pain. I don't have time to reason with him, not considering what he's capable of. You have no idea how much it hurts me to do this…" he didn't even try to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. "...PK Rockin gamma."

Ninten gasp at such powerful PSI, and held up his hands, "P-PK Beam!" The bright white energy beam shot at Ness's PK Rockin. The two PSI moves collided in air, and the PK Beam bounded off course and went for the machine instead.

 _Uh…_ Ness thought.

The PK Rockin continued on its course and hit Ninten directly, sending him back right into the now activated machine, also hitting the back of his head in the process and made him lose his hat. Ninten slumped down, unconscious.

Instead of turning into ash like the tree branch, the machine started whirring like one of those fancy "computer" things that were trending in colleges these days. It was almost like the PK Beam had activated the machine, somehow.

 _Oh no._

The machine started glowing.

"Ninten!" Ness shouted, running towards the unconscious boy. "Ninten!"

Ness screeched to a halt upon arriving at the machine.

"Let's get you away from here," Ness said, picking up Ninten's unconscious body. "I _am_ sorry for this, by the way."

"Ness!" Lucas shouted. Ness looked up to see Lucas' eyes bugged wide open in alarm. "Run!"

"That's… Master Porky's Time-" Claus began to say before he grabbed Lucas's arm and began running away.

Ness turned around. The machine looked like it was about to explode, like something in a video game.

Ness took one step forward before he heard a buzzing sound that sounded oddly familiar. The next second, the world started swirling around him.

 _What…? Why am I so dizzy?_

After a few seconds, the world around him stopped spinning, leaving him in the same field.

 _Wait…_

Ness detected subtle differences between this field and the one that he had been standing in just a few seconds ago. The grass was slightly different; the stars above lit up the sky in vaguely different patterns. It was similar enough to the old field that Ness couldn't tell if his mind was playing tricks on him and it _was_ the same field.

"Lucas? Claus?" Ness asked, looking around.

No response.

Ness shook his head, turning back to Ninten and the strange machine. Had Bud called it a time something… did he mean a time machine? Was Ness… in the past or future? He shook his head. That didn't matter. Hopefully, Ninten's hallucinations had been beaten out of him when Ness knocked him out.

"Healing gamma!" Ness said, touching Ninten's arm.

Ninten let out a small groan before slowly opening his eyes, he slowly lifted his head.

"... Ugh… Ness…? What hit me?" Ninten groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. "And… where's my hat?"

"Your hat?" Ness asked, looking around the field. "...I don't know. You were hallucinating pretty strange things, so I tried to knock some sense into you. I figured that since you were okay with me smashing Kumatora's head repeatedly with my baseball bat…"

"Please don't say that, it was bad enough I had to stay focus on Duster while you were beating the tar out of Kumatora… Duster sprayed me with something, but after that the rest is a blur… You said I was hallucinating?" Ninten shook his head to try and get rid of the ache.

"Yeah," Ness said. "...I don't know if we're in Tazmily anymore. This field is similar, but even the way that the hills are shaped in the background seems different."

"... Something does feel off…" Ninten agreed as he managed to get on his feet. "Maybe we should look around to be sure. What else happened while I was out?"

"Shh," Ness whispered. "Do you sense the telepathy PSI? We got another PSI-user near."

Ninten tensed up as he presumably began scanning the area. After being attacked by the brainwashed Kumatora, Ness felt he and Ninten were both on edge with another PSI-user.

"Should we hide?" Ninten whispered to Ness, not even bothering to use telepathy to talk.

"Gimme a sec," Ness whispered, focusing on the PSI spike in the distance.

When Ness strained his mind, he could barely make out what the PSI-user was saying.

 _"_ _I'm telling you, Loid. I sensed a spike in psionic energy right around here… what's that look for? Do you think that I'm trying to pull a prank on you? ...Hey, that was once! You can't hold that against me!"_

"...The PSI-user seems friendly to his or her friend," Ness whispered. Cocking his head, "But that doesn't say much, does it?"

"We should stay out of sight, just to be safe. We don't know if they're friend or foe," Ninten whispered back.

Ness nodded.

"No trees…" he muttered. "At least the grass is tall. I guess we should just stay down."

Ninten didn't argue as he and Ness stayed as low to the ground as possible. The machine behind them made Ness uneasy, that PSI-user may see it pretty easily.

"Ness…" Ninten whispered. "We should try crawling a little further away from that machine." Seems Ninten had the same thoughts.

"..."

On the one hand, Ness wanted nothing more than to get away from the machine. On the other hand, he didn't want to risk any sort of movement.

 _It's nighttime,_ Ness thought. _So long as you don't make too much noise, they shouldn't notice you moving._

"...All right," Ness whispered. "We have to be quiet, though."

Ninten nodded before the two began crawling through the grass. Ness felt a little bit like a predator stalking through the African plains, or perhaps more like a prey trying to hide from a potential predator. Ness wanted to stay close to Ninten, but they had to keep a few feet away from each other as staying too close would show them in a clump in the grass.

Ness felt the PSI-user get closer. They continued to crawl through the grass, but the PSI-user was still closing in. Ness noticed Ninten had stopped.

 _"_ _We're too close,"_ Ninten silently sent a message to Ness, probably thinking whispering was too dangerous.

 _"_ _Hold up a sec,"_ Ness heard the other PSI-user say telepathically. _"I just sensed a telepathic message. There's another PSI-user nearby… which means that they're hearing everything that I say… Don't give me that look! How was I supposed to know, Loid?"_

Ness heard a small sound coming from Ninten, most likely just realizing that he got them caught.

"Hey, whoever's hiding in the grass," came a youthful, female voice. "Uh… I don't mean to be rude, but… why? I mean, I've got acne like any other teenager, but I'm not _that_ scary."

 _She doesn't seem antagonistic,_ Ness thought. _What should we do?_

What to do indeed, the person didn't sound bad but neither of the boys know that for sure, and if they were in a different timeline who knows if this person is even good or bad at all. Heck, they could be in a timeline where Giygas rules everyone for all he knew.

Ness looked over at Ninten, trying to see if he had any ideas. Ninten was picking up a small pebble, since communicating with each other was risky right now, he tried showing Ness what he planned to do. Ninten was making tossing hand motions with the pebble, most likely hoping that if the person heard a sound coming from somewhere they would go to it.

"Uh…" the female voice said. "Since you're a PSI-user, whoever you are, you probably know that I can just use telepathy to read your mind… which lets me see where you are. I try to avoid doing that as much as I can because it's rude, but if you don't show me that you're not a threat…"

"PSI-users can use telepathy to read minds even from people they can't see?" Ninten suddenly hissed in shock.

 _...Well, then,_ Ness thought, standing up and dusting himself up. _No point in hiding now._

Now that he could see above the grass, he spotted a boy and a girl who looked about his age, although he couldn't make out many of their features in the black of the night.

"No," the girl said, sounding pleased with herself. "That's called an empty threat. Thanks for showing me where you are, though!"

 _...You gotta be kidding me,_ Ness thought.

Ninten was still hidden in the grass however, he didn't want to stand up.

"Hey… Ana, isn't that…?" The boy from beside her said, looking at Ness. "You don't think he's…?"

The girl, presumably named Ana, walked towards Ness, followed by the boy (she had called him Loid, right?).

" _Ninten?_ " She exclaimed out loud, her eyes lighting up. "Ninten!"

"Uh…" Ness said, taking a step back. "I think that you have the wrong guy."

Ana ran up to Ness, a smile dancing on her face.

"Come on!" she said. "Who else could you be?" Upon seeing Ness flinch backwards, Ana frowned. "Geez, you're _not_ Ninten, are you? Wow, thanks for giving me false hope, whoever you are! I hope that you feel terrible about looking like someone I know, even though you can't control it at all!"

"That's really not Ninten? But he looks just like him…" Loid said in confusion as he studied Ness. "... Well he's missing his scarf, which I know he never takes off. He doesn't seem to recognize us, either… Who are you? Why do you look like our missing friend?"

"Uh… I don't think that he can control that last part, Loid," Ana said. "I was only kidding when you said that you should feel terrible. What _I_ want to know is what that machine does." She pointed to the time machine.

"Er…" Ness said.

"It looks like we're losing him with our excessive yapping," Ana said, shooting Ness a sympathetic look.

"I asked him because there's a slight possibility he could be a clone from that machine, a clone of Ninten sent here to fool us, maybe plan B from Giegue should he failed his mission," Loid said.

"Nah," Ana said. "I've been probing his mind while distracting him with bad humor and pointless questions. He doesn't mean us any harm."

"Oh Ana, you and Ninten always sucked the fun out of interrogating anyone with your telepathy powers," Loid grumbled in a playful manner.

"I'm _so_ sorry," Ana said sarcastically. She turned to Ness, her expression turning sympathetic. "Seriously, Ness. You seem lost. If you want to spend the night with us, you're more than welcome. We should probably go to bed soon anyways. Tomorrow's a _school day._ "

"How do you know my…" Ness trailed off. "Oh right. Telepathy."

"I get the feeling you don't use telepathy much," Loid said to Ness. "Not trying to insult you or anything of course, you just seem unused to it."

"Maybe he actually has restraint and doesn't scan random people," Ana said. "Not that _I_ would ever do that."

"Uh… yeah," Ness said. "Let's go with that one. It's because of my moral codes and definitely not my level of competence that I don't use telepathy."

"You know, when you say it like that it practically means that's the very reason," Loid pointed out.

"He knows that," Ana said. "He's trying to mimic my bad humor."

"Who's mimicking whom?" Ness asked, a smirk coming to his face. "I was cracking bad jokes from the womb."

Ness wondered why Ninten wasn't coming up to show them he was here, although he probably didn't remember these two, he should at least know they don't mean any harm and they certainly seem to know him. Surely the other boy didn't plan on staying hidden and sleeping out here all alone tonight, does he?

"Well, at least you're comfortable around us," Ana said.

 _Uh… not really,_ Ness thought. _I'm just good at pretending._

"So, Loid, do you have room at your house for one more?" Ana asked. "Because I'm pretty sure that Ness is lost."

"Huh? Well… I guess I could ask my Mom if we could have a spare mattress or something for him. Maybe try to find his parents too," Loid said.

"I don't think that we'll have to worry about that," Ana said, flashing Ness a knowing smile.

 _Geez,_ Ness thought. _How much did she read from my mind?_

"So," Ana said. "Are you delusional, or is that hunk of metal back there really a time machine?"

 _...Oh._

"If I _were_ delusional, I wouldn't know it, would I?" Ness answered.

"Maybe I could study it whenever I have some free time," Loid said, looking at the machine. "It certainly does look like advanced technology; let's just hope it's not another alien invasion."

"Hey," Ana said. "In the starmen's defense, we don't know if the last guy who came has any affiliation with them. He looked like a human… sorta."

 _I really wonder what Ninten is thinking,_ Ness thought. _But I can't communicate with him or else Ana will pick up on it. Did she not notice that while she was reading my mind?_

"And we hadn't seen Ninten since." Loid frowned before he sighed. "Well, I better get back home and get ready for your stay, Ness. I'll see you in school tomorrow, Ana."

"All right," Ness said. "Thanks. I didn't expect strangers to be so nice."

"Like I said," Ana replied. "It's not like we were going to be doing anything anyways. Plus, Merrysville is pretty boring… a new face is usually welcome. I bet all of the locals will be clamboring to meet you."

 _Still don't know where we are, really,_ Ness thought. _Or when._

The grass began to rustle, surprising Ana. Ness figured it was Ninten. Ninten slowly came up from his hiding spot, still hatless.

"Aw man…" Ana said, shaking her head. "You were the one who first spoke, weren't you? I should have listened when my mind told me that your voices were different. Are…" Ana's eyes shined with hope. "Are _you_ Ninten?"

Ninten looked at Ana for a moment, Ness wondered what was going through his mind. Finally, Ninten said, "That… _is_ my name."

Ana shot a skeptical glance at Ninten.

"...You're lying," she said. "Even without my telepathy, it's obvious. You wouldn't have hid in the grass for so long if you were really Ninten. Who _are_ you?"

Ninten frowned and looked unsure how to answer. "If you're saying I'm not Ninten, then I don't know what to tell you."

"Dang," Ana said, her confidence disappearing. "You're serious. But… it makes no sense for you to be Ninten. What town do I come from?"

Ninten looked away before he said, "Merryville…?"

"Would I have asked you that question if that were the answer?" Ana asked, shaking her head.

"Ninten," Ness said with a sigh. "Just _tell_ her."

"I…" Ninten seemed very hesitant to tell her. "I have…" He looked at Ness and gave a sigh. "Maybe I'm not Ninten, it was just a silly name I thought for myself."

Ness nearly facepalmed. What did Ninten have against telling Ana that he had amnesia?

"The way that names work is that your parents generally give them to you," Ana said. "Or are you an orphan? I'm sorry if you are and I said something stupid."

"I don't know," Ninten said. "I mean I had to live with someone for a while."

Ness released a sigh.

Ninten shrugged and sighed, "Okay, okay, fine. This is what I wanted, right? … Ana, the truth is… I have amnesia… I only remember my name and that's about it."

"Oh," Ana said, her eyes lighting up in surprise. "Oh! Thank you for telling me that. I know that it's not easy to admit who you are. We don't usually like who we really are, after all."

 _Uh…_ Ness thought. _I like myself. Sure, I'm pretty dumb, but I'm alright overall._

"I'm sure that's the case with a lot of people," Ninten said. "But Ness and I are lost right now and we have no idea where we are."

"I gathered that," Ana said. "Welcome to the future or the past, whatever it is for you! Feel free to take it easy, Ninten. In case you haven't realized, we knew each other before you got amnesia. We were actually…" Ana coughed. "...Dating."

"No way!" Ness exclaimed. "Ninten, I never knew that you were a ladies' man like that!"

Ninten's face was pretty red at this point, he glared at Ness and said, "Oh, like you don't have some secret girlfriend I don't know about!" Then he turned back to Ana, "W-w-we were dating? Y-you and m-me? B-but wasn't I some kind of… soldier or something?"

"Sort of," Ana said with a smirk. "But there's room on the battlefield for romance. And our war wasn't a traditional one. When psionics go flying… weird stuff happens, man."

Ninten looked at Ness, as if not sure what to make of that.

"Um… so uh… Ness is going to stay with Loid, right? Where am I going to stay for the night?" Ninten asked.

"Well… I'm staying with him too," Ana said. "Even though he seems to have forgotten that. Anyways, one of us might have to sleep on the floor. I should probably do it; both of you look exhausted."

"I wouldn't mind sleeping on the floor," Ninten said. "And uh… we'll just follow you to his house."

"You look exhausted," Ana said. "I can do it. I mean, if either of you really don't care, you can sleep on the floor, but I don't want you objecting out of masculine pride."

"Nah," Ness said with a yawn. "All yours, Ana."

Ninten didn't answer, he didn't seem sure what to say. Ana just smiled and took that as an answer in itself.

Ana lead the two boys into town. It was very different from Tazmily Village, a lot bigger and more bustling like a small city. Ninten looked around the place, having some kind of… expression on his face, perhaps it had some familiarity to him?

"What is this place called?" Ninten asked Ana.

"Merrysville," Ana answered.

The three of them walked through the silent town. It seemed more than likely that everyone was asleep.

"Ninten," Ana said. "Do you believe me? That I was your girlfriend?"

Ninten looked at Ana, surprised by the sudden question. "Uh well… I believed you pretty easily now that I think about it… but you and that other boy Loid were the first ones to truly know me before I forgot… so I just took everything you said seriously."

Ana adopted an expression of wry humor.

"I thought so," she said. "In that case… it might interest you to know that you've changed, and I honestly don't know what to make of it. You were always worrying, both about yourself and other people. If you had stayed the same, you would probably have felt extremely guilty for thinking that you forgot someone so important to your life."

 _Would that old Ninten have also objected to how I attacked Kumatora?_ Ness wondered.

Ninten looked down and scratched his cheek, "I had been feeling that way for a long time, but then a lot of… stuff started happening and I had to focus on that for a while… I… didn't show you I was there earlier because I didn't want you to know that your friend didn't remember you…"

"Um…" Ana said. "It was pretty obvious that you didn't remember me, Ninten. It _is_ like you to worry about something like that. I'm just wondering if your experiences in that other world affected you in the way that Giegue never could."

"Um… well that world is all I know right now… but…" Ninten hesitated. "Maybe I'll tell you in detail when we get to Loid's house. It's a long story."

"Of course," Ana said. "And obviously, you should get a good night's rest before that. Maybe you two can come to school with us tomorrow. We'll have plenty of time to talk… although I don't know what we're going to do with you in the long run, Ness."

"...Yeah, I don't know either," Ness said, feeling too tired to care.

"By the way, Ana… who's Giegue?" Ninten asked.

"Ah," Ana said. "I forgot that you forgot. Giegue was a leader of a band of aliens who were just kinda nasty. We got rid of him together, along with Loid and Teddy." Ana walked up to a house and opened the door. "But we can talk about that tomorrow. Come on in and make yourselves at home! ...Assuming that Loid's parents don't decide to kick you out."

"Why would they kick me out? Did I tick them off or something?" Ninten asked nervously.

"No, no," Ana said with a laugh. "It's just that they probably weren't expecting two more guests."

Ness walked into the house, realizing only then how tired he was.

 _"_ _Loid!"_ Ana yelled telepathically. _"Did you convince your parents to let Ness stay here?"_

"Ana?" Loid came from downstairs. "Yeah, Mom said it's okay with her, but-" he stopped when he saw Ninten. "... Is that Ness's twin brother or something?"

"Hiya, my name's Ninten, how're you doing?" Ninten joked.

Loid stared at Ninten for a few seconds before it clicked in his brain, "NINTEN!? Where have you been? Where's your hat? Why didn't I see you before?"

"Why did you have to scream loudly enough to wake your parents up a second time?" Ana added.

"Give me a break Ana! We hadn't seen Ninten in months!" Loid said to her. "Where in all of PSI universe were you, Ninten?"

"Tazmily Village?" Ninten answered sheepishly.

"What?"

"Can I please answer these questions in the morning?" Ninten said, looking to trying to stifle a yawn.

"... Uh… fine, I suppose that's fair. I'll let my parents know we have one more for the sleepover, but someone's going to have to sleep on the floor," Loid said with a sigh.

"That'll be me," Ana said. "Now, let's get you two off to bed, all right?"

Ness had never been so happy to take a suggestion in his life.


	21. Chapter 21: Acclimation

**Connor: Hey, look who it is! It's us with another chapter! I bet you guys didn't see this coming... Even though we update weekly. *Coughs***

 **DarkFoxKit: We also caught you guys off guard when we went into Ninten's timeline. A lot of you didn't see that one coming. ;P Also, I know I didn't update Rebuild or Reborn on Monday, but my co-writer was going through a tough time and we decided to postpone it until next week. So sorry about that. ^^'**

 **Connor: I'm sure they understand… And yeah, some of you expressed surprise at the time shift, but surprise itself doesn't make a work of writing good or bad. Hopefully we won't bore you to death with this chapter. :)**

 **DarkFoxKit: Well then, let's get to the reviews now.**

 **Shimo no ko: Connor:** I did Ana, so thanks! :) I don't know if they're an official spelling for Loid/Lloyd; I think that either one works. Nah, it was a bad inference on my part, since I'm someone who doesn't really agonize over next installments of books/movies/video games/albums/whatever, but I can totally see why other people would (is "agonize" a bit of a strong word to describe that aspect of yours?). Yeah, you know me. I'm not a romance writer. It also got awkward because Fox writes Ninten and I write Ana, so… yeah. Gender reversal. ._. I thought that was a little awkward, anyways. See you! :D

 **DarkFoxKit:** I didn't think it was awkward, I thought it was amusing. I'm not a romance writer myself either, but I like to write about it once in a while because I think it can be nice too.

 **A Fan:** Yes, plot, isn't that exciting? And I don't know this for sure, but I think Porky may have more than one machine to travel through time. I mean if he only had one and something happens to it, then he'd lose a lot of his power too. Then again it is Porky, so it's hard to say. As for why Ninten went 'deranged hallucinating psycho' it's because Duster sprayed him with Tanetane Mushroom spray. I guess we failed to make that clear, but I couldn't find a good spot to mention the name of the spray. I am aware of Connor's PK Distort, as I've read that fanfiction too, but that doesn't exist here. ^^' And yes, the 'cat alien' was the best way I could describe Giegue, he does seem similar to Mewtwo from Pokemon, and again it was Tanetane Mushrooms, using memories that's buried in his subconsciousness.

 **crabbyTomato: Connor: ** I think we got about an inch of snow but school got cancelled because of icy roads. :D Yeah, we're not going to go super in-depth with all of the theories of time mechanics… Not right now, at least. ;) So yeah, no drastic changes to the future and all that stuff. At least, for now. Yeah, Tanetane mushrooms. I guess I just have a thing for brainwashing Kuma. ._. Maybe I should do it in Ceres too. :D Ah, no, that's not an undertale reference… at least, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure that I wrote it because it's Ness' action, and I don't use that Undertale reference because it doesn't really mean a whole lot outside of the game. All of the "Uhs" are a result of me not editing this story a whole lot. Yeah, some people do that in real life, but I don't really need to put it in every time that Ness does it.

Well, it was Ninten who really fell for the threat and responded. Ness just got up because he knew that they heard Ninten. ;) And it's hinted at this chapter, but Ana doesn't really like Snowman a whole lot. There's… just not much to do. xD

There's a Mother encyclopedia? ._.

But yeah, there's no real way that Ness and Ninten aren't going to stick out. 60 people though… haha. Are we sure that Merrysville is a town and not a neighborhood? xD

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan** **:**

 **DarkFoxKit:** I hope everything's alright. ^^'  
Yeah, I like being unpredictable to the readers, and I figured it'd be pretty interesting to explore Ninten's time period since he doesn't have his memories. And yeah, Ana was staying with Loid, they're also looking for Ninten since he went missing. And try not to force yourself to review if you can't, we can wait.

 **Connor:** Yeah, don't feel like you have to review! :) Not that I don't appreciate the time and effort that you put into writing them (your reviews make my day haha). See you later! :D

* * *

Ninten had never felt more refreshed in his life. It felt like a long time since he woke up in a bed that didn't threaten to break his back. The boy figured Lucas must've made him sleep in the big bed again, and he was just wrapping himself up in the blanket, ready to doze off again when he heard a sweet, feminine voice.

"Ninten!" Ana said. "I know it's early, but can you stay awake and listen to me for a few minutes?"

Ninten's eyes flew open and he jerked away from the girl in shock, almost hitting his head in the process.

"WAAAH!" He was wrapped up in the blanket and almost fell to the floor, his heart was racing and beating against his chest, and he was worried he was going to have another asthma attack.

"...I guess you must be pretty tired, huh?" Ana asked, bending down and unwrapping the blanket. "Guess I can't blame you. But I'm going off to school soon. Do you want to come with me? It might be a good chance to trigger some of your memories."

After Ninten regained his breath, he said, "A-Ana! Do you normally wake up people like this in front of their faces? And school? … I don't know, are you sure I should go with you?"

"If there's a way for me to wake me up where you don't see me, I'm all ears," Ana said wryly. "And why not? I mean, you can go back to bed if you want, but I just thought that you would want to get to work recovering memories."

"I…" Ninten hesitated, he had wanted to remember who he was, but ever since that glimpse of being on the Porkship came to his mind he's been hesitant on finding out he might be a Pigmask soldier. "I guess so… Was I just a normal kid?"

"Depends on your definition of normal," Ana said with a shrug. "We _did_ save the world…"

"Saving the world could mean a number of things, Ana," Ninten said. "But I guess it's better if I try to remember it myself than being told a tale I may not believe."

"If you say so," Ana said. She looked over to Ness, who was still sleeping soundly. "Do you think that we should wake him up, too?"

"You mean Ness?" Ninten looked at the sleeping look-alike. "Nah, let him sleep; he needs it more than I do." Then he reached up and remembered his hat was gone. "I feel almost naked without my hat…"

"Are you waiting for me to suggest that you steal his?" Ana asked. "Because I don't endorse that."

Ninten looked at Ana, surprised by what she said, "That didn't even cross my mind. I was just used to having that hat… I guess I shouldn't complain or I'll give people the wrong idea. Is Loid coming with us?"

"Yep," Ana said. "He is a kid too. We all have to go to school. It… is a little weird, though. Having saved the world, going through multiple near-death experiences, and then just going back to being normal… I don't know. Maybe I'm weird, but something about this world feels different now that I've seen so much. And…" Ana released a sigh. "I think that you started to feel it too, Ninten. You've always been a little reclusive, but I think that your experiences made you a little disconnected with the world. Now you're back to your sweet, normal self… just how much do you want to remember, Ninten? How much do you want to know?"

Ninten had a sinking feeling in the pit of his gut, with how much Ana implied about him made him wonder just how he was before he lost his memories. Was he acting as bitter and jaded as Lucas was?

"How was I like before?" Ninten asked slowly.

"When I first met you?" Ana asked. "Just like this. Well, like this but a little more eager. You tried to hard to be the leader, but it was never really your thing. I guess that's part of what I admired about you. You always tried so hard, even when you had to work harder than everyone else. But after everything that we saw and experienced together… we both started to drift apart from the rest of the world. You can't face what we did and come out unchanged, Ninten. I think that's the reason why you fell in love with me. I don't think that you really _liked_ me, but you needed someone who knew your pain. I guess we both did." Ana bit her lip. "Loid only changed for the better, though. While we started to fall into our own little world, he became increasingly connected with his community. I guess I'm still a little jealous."

Ninten had to pause for a moment to let what Ana said sink in, it was a little too much. Ninten couldn't imagine being such a stranger to the world like that, even with his amnesia.

Before Ninten could say anything else, Loid came into the room, "Are you ready Ana? We don't want to be late… Oh, Ninten, are you coming too?

"Yeah, but to see if anything triggers my memory. Um… what happened to me? I mean when did I disappear and for how long?" Ninten asked as he stood up and stretched a bit.

"It was a few months ago," Ana said. "Your parents told me that you had gone missing and asked me if I knew where you were. It was… strange. You showed no signs of struggle and no indications that you ever left. I guess you were taken to either the past or the future, considering that you came back through a time machine and you look the same age as before."

The three kids left the house together, though not before Ninten managed to clean up in Loid's bathroom, it felt nice having access to a bathroom with indoor plumbing again. It was weird when he had to clean up in Lucas's house, and later on in the woods somewhere due to not being able to return to Lucas's house. It was pretty much a luxury for him.

Ninten was looking around the town they were in, it was big and bustling with people and cars. "It's pretty hard to believe that this place was once or will be Tazmily Village…"

"Yeah," Ana said. "I guess that nothing I've seen can compare to existing in two different time periods at once. But I'm curious… how do you know that this is the same location as 'Tazmily Village?' Isn't it possible that the time machine brought you to a different place completely?"

"Well… It brought us to an area that looked identical to the area we were in before it brought us through time again, so I assumed it's the same place, just in a different era," Ninten answered.

"Can you tell us about this Tazmily Village?" Loid asked. "How different is it from Merrysville?"

"Well… it's kind of a rural place that has some urban to it, but mostly rural. I guess you could say it's like in an early stage of development from a completely country town to a modern town," Ninten answered. "Of course I didn't have anything to compare it to other than my basic knowledge."

The three friends continued to chat until they reached a tall building, which Ninten assumed was the school Ana and Loid were attending in.

"Here we go," Ana said. "Although… now that I think about it, it wouldn't be the end of the world if I showed up late, right? I think that we should check in with Ninten's parents… or do we want to confirm that you're really Ninten first?"

"I have parents?" Ninten asked. "I kinda assumed I was an orphan…" he gave an awkward grin.

"Why would you assume that?" Loid asked.

"Because I woke up alone, in an unfamiliar world and nobody knew who I was," Ninten answered.

"Oh…" Loid frowned. "I guess that would make one assume they had no parents."

"So?" Ana said. "Do you want to go to your parents now, or see if you can trigger some memories first to make sure that you are who we say that you are?"

"Uh… I think we should try to trigger my memories first. I don't really want to go to your Ninten's parents in case I'm not really the Ninten you knew," Ninten said.

"Alright, so Ana, I take it that Ninten's going to sit in class with you all day?" Loid asked the girl.

"Yeah," Ana said. "Since we're in the same grade anyway. You can have fun in your vastly inferior _7th grade,_ young 'un."

"Loid is younger than us?" Ninten asked, looking at the gray haired kid, if anything he kinda looked like a tiny grandpa.

"Well excuse me miss 'I'm Perfect At Everything', unlike you and Ninten, I don't have psychic powers to read the teacher's minds about when's the next pop quiz!" Loid pouted, but in a playful tone.

"Are you implying that I _shouldn't_ make fun of my friends for things that don't matter?" Ana asked with an exaggerated gasp. "Because I don't know if I can do that. And hey, I don't even read minds like that! Well… not anymore. I'll have you know that my morals are _very_ strict."

Ninten couldn't tell if they were being serious or playful, and it made him feel a little out of the loop.

Eventually they had to go into the building, where there were a lot of kids around their age or slightly younger running around. It wasn't pure chaos, but it was pretty disorientating. Ninten watched as a kid about his age was scrambling trying to put in stacks of paper from their locker into their bookbag.

"Welcome to middle school," Ana said, "Where we try not to care about academic success but stress ourselves out about it anyway. Anyways, I hope that you like math at eight in the morning, because that's where we're headed. How's your geometry?"

Ninten shook his head, only half understanding what Ana was babbling about. Sure he had his basic knowledge of school, but most of his current life was with Lucas and Tazmily, so all this talk about academic success and geometry at eight in the morning pretty much went over his head.

"I don't know. Tazmily didn't have a school from what I saw of it," Ninten answered timidly.

"Ah," Ana said. "Well, you do go to this school, even though you live in another town. I'm just here because homeschooling is the worst idea since…" Ana struggled to finish the sentence. "Since a long time. Anyways, you were in this class with me, so hopefully you should be able to pick up on some of the stuff. I still don't see why Loid gets to take freaking _Calculus_ in 7th grade while we're stuck learning what squares are."

"I guess Loid is a genius." Ninten shrugged sheepishly.

Ana lead Ninten through the chaos of school and came to a door. She opened the door and revealed a row of desks and tons of kids their own age sitting down in them. There was no adult to be seen however, perhaps the teacher was running a little late? Ninten just stared, not sure what to do or where to go, so he just watched Ana for instructions.

"Oh yeah," Ana said as realization dawned on her. "You don't remember where we sit."

She lead him over to a pair of seats near the back of the classroom. Each chair was attached to a small, oak desk.

"We actually have to _sit_ in these things," Ana muttered, plopping down. "They might as well put road spikes on these chairs. I don't know if I would even be able to tell the difference. At least we were _standing_ when we nearly died on our adventure _._ Anyways, we can kind of hide from the teacher back here. These spots are great."

Ninten sat beside Ana and noticed the board was a little far away. "Wouldn't it be kind of hard to see the writing on the board back here?" Now Ninten knew how Lucas felt whenever he talked about technology.

"Nah," Ana said. "The teacher writes pretty large. And here she is!"

A young woman walked up to the front of the room, carrying a meter stick in her hands.

"Settle down!" she shouted. All conversations quieted. "Hmph. I need to take role…" she trailed off as she noticed Ninten's presence. "Oh my. Look who we have here. You finally decided to show up, huh? I suppose that you had to save the world again, hmm?"

" _Teachers,"_ Ana said telepathically. " _They sure get annoyed easily, don't they? When will they realize that there are more important things than being able to find the circumference of a circle?"_

Ninten blinked, not sure who the teacher was talking about.

" _Ninten!"_ Ana shouted. " _She's talking to you."_

" _W-what? Why?"_ Ninten frowned in shock. "Um… d-did I do something wrong?"

" _You mean BESIDES randomly going missing a few months ago?"_ Ana asked.

"Don't play dumb with me, young man!" The teacher said, pointing the meter stick at Ninten.

"He's not playing dumb," Ana spoke up. "He has amnesia, so he only remembers a few things from Merrysville, and this class _certainly_ isn't one of them."

" _...Hope you're okay that I said that. Mrs. Bossert was about to give you a real grilling. Do you think that her name having 'Boss' in it is a coincidence?"_

Ninten didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. He certainly didn't want others to know of his amnesia; it was embarrassing enough as it is, but he also feared others would try to take advantage of him in this state.

"I-I'm sorry, it won't happen again, Mrs. Bossert," Ninten quickly said when he noticed the teacher was giving him the stink eye.

"Of _course_ it won't," she sneered. "That's what you told me last time."

"What was he supposed to do?" Ana asked. "Tell the people who abducted him to cover for him at school? Unless he had a death glare like yours, I don't think that would have worked."

" _...Oh. I just said that out loud, didn't I? Sorry, Ninten."_

Mrs. Bossert glared at Ana, "Miss Rosewell, I have been very tolerate of your behavior because you were usually such a good student, but I won't stand for being insulted. See me after school for detention."

Ninten bit his lip at that, he knew what detention was and it was not a good feeling to know he just got Ana in trouble.

" _She actually thinks that I'm going to come,"_ Ana said telepathically. " _That's hilarious."_

"W-wait Mrs. Bossert, please don't punish Ana for my own faults," Ninten begged.

"Yeah, because it's _your_ fault that I insulted her…" Ana said sarcastically. Turning to the teacher, "And the death glare part was a compliment, Mrs. Bossert. Honestly, I wish that I could instill that much fear in a person just by looking at them. Really, there's no reason to be so insecure about your most defining attribute."

"Detention," Mrs. Bossert said flatly. "And you had better pray that I don't make it any worse."

" _Ana, stop before she makes it worse! Aren't we supposed to treat our authorities with respect?"_ Ninten mentally said to Ana. _Although this reminds me of when Lucas had that argument with his father…_

" _I respect people who deserve it,"_ Ana said. " _Honestly, if she can't deal with a little playful banter, she shouldn't be teaching middle school."_

"And as for you, Ninten, does your parents know you're here? I'm going to call them to see if they know you've come to school without even going to them first," Mrs. Bossert sneered.

" _You can tell from her grammar that she's not an English teacher, huh?"_ Ana asked. "' _Does your parents know?' Priceless."_

Ninten frowned as she went back to the board and started addressing the rest of the class. And she pulled out a surprise test from her desk.

"Since a certain someone decided to show up in class with no explanation whatsoever, we're going to take a test on everything we've learned. Let's see how much the world's savior knows about the world on his journey."

The entire class gave a groan and Ninten wished he could disappear from his desk. If he still had his hat he would cover his face right now.

" _It's okay,"_ Ana said. " _I can just tell everyone the answers telepathically. She's too lazy to give us open-ended questions, so we just have multiple choice tests."_

" _Ana, isn't that cheating? And the class is okay with you talking in their mind?"_ Ninten asked as he was handed a piece of paper.

" _It's happened before,"_ Ana said. " _Mrs. Bossert loves to give us questions on material that we never covered just to see us suffer. I figure that if she's not going to play fair with her questions, then I don't have to play fair with my answers. I'd never cheat on a legitimate test."_

Ninten could spend all day arguing about how immoral it was to cheat, but decided it was better to just shut up and take it.

Throughout the test, Ninten followed Ana's instructions and couldn't help but get a familiar sense of deja vu. Something like this happened before, he remembered, and Ana had to help guide him through another test.

As the day went on, Ninten started remembering more about this school. It was boring and tedious from what he could recall, and he never really connected with a lot of the kids here. Ninten had been such a shy boy when this nice woman, whom he thinks is his mother, first took him here, and the other kids didn't like how quiet he was and thought he was snobby, so none of them bothered to ask him to play with them.

 _When did I meet Ana? Was it at this school? And… did she come to me or did I go to her?_ Ninten wondered as the afternoon came and the school bell rang.

"So… are you still going to detention, Ana?" Ninten asked as they were walking out of the classroom.

"Still?" Ana asked. "That was never really the plan. Speaking of which… Mrs. Bossert didn't actually call your parents like she said that she would. I wonder why. But we survived, right?" She looked guilty for a second. "Sorry that I didn't offer to help you cheat on the history quiz today. Since that one was actually fair and the teacher said that he would give you a chance to make it up since you were gone for so long, well… you really should learn the material for yourself."

"At least I remember what stressing out for academics feels like," Ninten chuckled. "I guess I kinda miss that about the other timeline I was in; not worrying about school. It's unbelievably boring and tedious… not to mention lonely."

"I like learning," Ana said with a shrug. "And lonely? What do you mean by that? I mean, I know that I'm not the best conversation partner, but I don't think that I _completely_ abandoned you there."

"O-of course not, Ana! It's just… I remembered those times before I met you, nobody ever gave me a second glance. I was just a shy, average boy really. I don't mind learning, but the environment wasn't all that favorable to me. I also remember sitting next to a kid who had a cold problem that never seems to go away. But I also noticed something while we were here… the other kids… mostly the boys, seem to be eyeing you a lot… you must be pretty popular here," Ninten said as he looked at the other kids looking at Ana while they were in the hallway.

"I can see what you mean when you say that the environment isn't good," Ana said. "Especially since you boys do better when you can move around and stuff. We need a petition to get recess in middle school. And… I guess that I am popular. It helps that I got genes that make me seem visually attractive to this culture, I suppose."

Ninten couldn't help but blush, "You really are attractive… uh… just saying that you're not ugly… uh… I'm shutting up now."

"Even if I were, I don't see why it should really matter," Ana said with a shrug. "Isn't what's inside of us more important? Meh. People are weird. Thanks for the compliment, though… If that's what you meant, anyway."

"Ninten! Ana!" Loid called over. "Hey, my mom just called and she said Ness is freaking out. I better get home and make sure he's okay. Ana, why don't you take Ninten to Podunk? Just the two of you, maybe it'll help jog his memory, know what I mean?"

"Freaking out?" Ana asked. "What did she mean by that?"

"Well… he woke up, didn't see us there, and almost blew up the house with some kind of… colorful laser attack," Loid said sheepishly.

"Oh no, I hope he didn't use PK Rockin," Ninten grumbled. "He's probably still recovering from his time with the Pigmasks…"

"I'm pretty sure that your mom is exaggerating, Loid," Ana said. "I read Ness' mind a bit, and I can basically tell for a fact that he wouldn't freak out if we went missing. He's a smart cookie; I'm sure that he figured out where we were on his own. And forgive me for saying this, but your mom really isn't a reliable source. I've seen chickens with better memories."

"Why do you think I have to get home?" Loid grumbled. "It's not exactly for Ness. My mom freaks out pretty easily… Anyways, I'll see you two later. I'll tell Ness where you're going in case he wants to meet up. So are you going to show Ninten his home town next, Ana?"

"Yep," Ana said. "We're going right now. But before I forget… how was Calculus today? Did you get to draw more of those squiggly lines? You know, those… 'integrals,' as you call them?"

Ninten stopped listening there, none of anything that came out of their mouth about Calculus made any sense whatsoever to him, instead he decided to occupy his mind with thoughts about his hometown. What did it look like? Was it small or big? And what would he say once he met his parents? Would they accept him or would they hate him? Or perhaps Ninten really isn't this Ninten's timeline and is just making a fool of himself.

"Well I better go, you two should get to Podunk so you can explore before it gets dark. Are you going to teleport there?" Loid asked.

Ninten looked at Ana, she seemed pretty in-tuned with her PSI powers, even more so than Ness or Lucas, he wouldn't be surprised if she knew how to teleport.

"Of course!" Ana exclaimed. "Walking is _so_ 197X. And we have plenty of time, Loid. It's two in the afternoon. So Ninten… do you remember all of your PSI?"

"No, at least I don't think so," Ninten answered. "I just know 4th D Slip, Teleport, Lifeup, Telepathy, Quick Up and PK Beam."

"That's it?" Ana asked. "Well, I guess you got most of the important ones. I'll have to reteach you the rest of it. Now, grab onto me in a place that doesn't make you look like a pervert. We're going to teleport together."

Ninten gulped and nodded, the last time he teleported he felt pretty sick. The boy took Ana's hand and she said the word 'teleport'. Ninten braced himself as the world around them melted.

* * *

"Why… why aren't… you sick?" Ninten groaned as he was on the ground, trying to recover from that teleport.

"I have a lot of experience with that move," she said. "Which is why there was a lot less swirling and stuff. Are you okay, Ninten? At the level of smoothness that I can achieve with the teleport, you shouldn't really feel sick."

"I… I guess I'm just… paranoid about my asthma," Ninten answered as he sat up. "So… this is Podunk?"

"Yep," Ana said. "Your house is right over there."

Ninten soon got a better look at his house. It looked like most of the others, but was significantly larger.

"...And there's Pippi's house," Ana said. "She totally has a crush on you."

"Uh…" Ninten wasn't sure how to feel about that. "Wow, this place is kinda small compared to Merrsyville, but bigger than Tazmily. So… am I supposed to go home now?"

"Yeah, I guess," Ana said. "I'm thinking about staying the night with you, if that's okay. Your parents know me so well that I might as well be their daughter."

"Okay, but maybe you should take the lead, just to make sure I don't end up in the wrong house," Ninten said sheepishly.

"Of course," Ana said with a smile. "And I don't know if I've said this before, but feel free to talk to me about anything. I know that this is probably pretty overwhelming for you, but you don't have to face life alone. I'm here for you if you ever want me to help."

"Thanks, Ana," Ninten said in relief.

Ninten followed Ana up a hill, passing some rivers. They passed by a house, which Ninten believed was Pippi's house, and heading towards the bigger house with fences around it. There was a doghouse, and a white dog next to it. Ninten was reminded of Boney when he saw the dog.

The white dog lifted its head when it saw them and began barking with its tail wagging. " _Ana! You're back! And… is that Ninten behind you? Ninten! HEY NINTEN! Where've you been, buddy?"_

Ninten looked down as he heard the dog barking and yelling for him excitedly; it still felt weird hearing animals talking yet not talking.

"I'll take it that's my dog?" Ninten quietly said.

"Yep," Ana said. Turning to the dog, "Sorry, buddy. Ninten has amnesia. He doesn't remember either of us."

"Will you please stop telling everyone I have amnesia?" Ninten grumbled.

"And have everyone think that you're blatantly ignoring them?" Ana asked. "Because if you really want to be seen that way, I'll shut up."

"I just meant I don't like having people knowing my… condition," Ninten said.

There were footsteps coming to the door, and it opened before Ninten could even brace himself. A somewhat young looking woman with blonde hair opened the door.

"What is that dog barking abou-" she stopped short when she noticed the two kids in front of her.

"Hey, Claire," Ana said. "How are you doing?"

The woman named Claire was looking between her and Ninten, making Ninten uncomfortable. Before long, Claire's eyes were starting to fill with tears.

"A-Ana… is… is that… m-my precious baby?"

" _So,"_ Ana said to Ninten telepathically. " _Since you don't want people to know that you have amnesia, how are you going to deal with this?"_

" _I-I don't even know her! M-maybe tell her I'm someone else?"_ Ninten frantically telepathically said back.

"N-Ninten?" Claire slowly approached the boy.

Ninten didn't move as she touched his face, as if studying him, before she broke down and wrapped him up in her arms. "Ninten! Oh my baby boy is back; you're finally home!"

" _How's that not telling people about amnesia thing working out?"_ Ana asked innocently. " _You definitely don't look like you're in an awkward position."_

But Ninten didn't answer her back, his mind was overwhelmed with emotion. He didn't remember this lady who is crying in his shoulder, but she was very familiar. Her hugging made him feel warm and safe, and her crying broke his heart, she had missed him even though he didn't remember her. Is this what it felt like having a mother? The feeling was both foreign and familiar. Ninten slowly brought up his arms to embrace the crying woman himself.

" _DO you remember her?"_ Ana asked.

But Ninten couldn't concentrate to mentally answer her back, instead he could only do what his emotions want him to do. Ninten covered his face into this woman… his mother's shoulder and let it all out himself. Ninten didn't even realize how much he had been holding back, how much he truly missed his mother… yes, _his_ mother. He had missed her and this feeling. And he didn't want it to end.

"M-Mom…" He whispered, and Claire's arms tightened around him.

" _This is actually really sweet,"_ Ana said.

"He just randomly showed up yester-today," Ana said. "It's nice not to have to constantly worry about him anymore, huh?"

"A-Ana… l-let's… all go inside," Claire said, trying to control her voice through her sobbings.

Ninten felt his mother picking him up, she was pretty strong, and easily carried him inside while he continued to cry on her.

" _...I promise never to mention this to anyone else, all right?"_ Ana said, following the two of them in.

The closest to a response Ana got was Ninten nodding his head.

 _What is this feeling? Why can't I stop crying? I want to stop… yet I can't… It's such a troublesome feeling… yet I'm glad it's there. I want to remember more… to remember my life with my mom…_

Ninten didn't remember much after that, he just knew that when he opened his eyes again, they stung a bit and he was on a couch near a fireplace. Ninten could smell a very pleasant smell, one that was extremely appetizing, but what was it? It's some kind of meat, his hazy mind provided. He must've passed out after all that emotional crying, but how long had he been out? His shoes were taken off, and he didn't see Ana anywhere, but he did hear humming not too far away.

After a while longer (his time sense was still out of whack), Ana walked up and sat next to him on the couch.

"Looks like your sisters are at piano lessons right now," Ana said. A thin smile came to her face. "Which might be a good thing, in retrospect. They might make fun of you for your emotional reaction to seeing your mom."

Ninten tried to wipe his dried eyes before he said, "I… have sisters too? … And uh… please don't ever mention that emotional wreck I was in, ever. I didn't realize how much I missed my mom until right then and there…"

"Of course," Ana said. Her face twisted into a grimace. "...I want to talk to you about something. Is it okay if we go outside for a few minutes?"

Ninten felt his stomach drop at seeing how serious she looked. He didn't like those kinds of looks; they usually come with bad news. "U-uh… o-okay… i-is it that bad?"

Ana sighed.

"Call me insecure," she said. "I just don't want anyone else to hear."

Ninten just nodded as he followed her outside; it was surprisingly pretty dark out. The sun was already going down, and the dog wasn't barking. perhaps he was already asleep in his doghouse.

"So what did you want to say, Ana?" Ninten nervously asked.

Ana inhaled and then exhaled slowly.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered. "I can't believe that I'm one of _those_ girlfriends. But here goes…" Ana adopted a sad smile as she looked into Ninten's eyes. "I'm just going to say how I feel outright. I'm telling you right now that my feelings aren't really justified, but I _need_ to get this out. Is… that okay?"

Ninten frowned as he kind of figured where this was going. "You're free to tell me whatever you want, Ana."

"Thanks," she said with a relieved sigh. "The truth is… I don't know if you've figured this out about me, but I have a real problem with jealousy. I tend to see everything as a competition, and I'm a sore loser. So when you kind of broke down with love upon seeing your mother, it honestly made me feel pretty awful. Because you _should_ feel relieved to see her, but I assumed that you wouldn't remember her, since you didn't remember me. And yeah, I get that your mom is more important to your life than I am, but to see you turn into a ball of emotional mush for her while not remembering a single thing about me… I know that it's not your fault, but it makes me feel bitter." Ana let out a deflated sigh. "Well… there it is. I said it. I'm not really used to stating my feelings, either. So… yeah." Ana blushed, clearly not knowing what else to say.

Ninten didn't speak for a minute, letting what Ana said sink in. She was jealous that he remembered his mother but not much about her. He could understand those feelings, after all he felt that way when Lucas spoke with Kumatora and Claus, even though it was illogical and selfish to feel that way. Lucas was someone he clinged to because he was the only one who was willing to help him in his time of need, and he felt jealous whenever he had attention for someone else.

"I'm sorry, Ana, I know what it's like dealing with that kind of jealousy. But if it makes you feel any better, I admire how calm you were taking it. I just wish I could remember."

Ninten felt awful that he made Ana feel this way, and he strained himself to try and remember more about Ana, like how they met and what their past was about, _anything_ really, but all that resulted was a slight headache. There is one thing he did have, however, and that was a memory glimpse he had a while back. He was yelling at someone, about his hatred, and the voice sounded like…

"Ana… did I… ever show you a side of me filled with anger and hate?" Ninten slowly asked.

Ana's eyes lit up.

"Yeah…" she said slowly. "You were yelling about Giegue and it honestly scared me a little."

"So it _was_ you I was yelling at," Ninten said. "Something triggered that memory, something that was familiar about it. A friend of mine told me how much hate he had for a certain someone, and that memory just kinda flashed through my mind."

"Huh," Ana said. "So that memory was triggered by someone talking about something similar…" Ana trailed off. "I'm going to make a strange request, one that might help jog your memory of me. Will you dance with me, Ninten?"

Ninten felt his eyes going wide at the sudden request, and his face heating up. "D-dance? W-with you? Uh… r-right now? I'm… n-not sure if I can dance… b-but if it'll make you happy, then o-okay, we can dance."

"Thanks," Ana said, taking his hands. "I know that this is uncomfortable, but it _does_ mean a lot to me. Don't worry; I'll lead you through it."

Ninten nodded as Ana began moving with her hands still on his. Ninten followed Ana's lead, though he was nervous and started out pretty clumsy. Ninten looked into Ana's eyes as he tried not to think about messing up too much.

After a while, Ninten started getting into the rhythm. As he began to get more comfortable dancing with Ana, he started remembering a stage. Not just a stage, but another room. The two of them, dancing alone together, having an apprehensive feeling of danger that loomed over them, yet the two wanted to enjoy their time together in case they didn't come back alive. Ana had asked him… asked him an important question that day. She told him how she truly felt about him and asked if he felt the same way. And Ninten… he smiled and gave her his answer.

"Yes, Ana, I do feel the same way…" Ninten answered out loud.

Ana's expression lit up like a lightbulb.

"You _do_ remember!" she said. "You remember when we danced and I told you…" a tear came to each of Ana's eyes. "Look at me, getting all sentimental. I shouldn't need this; I shouldn't need you to remember me to feel like I'm not a piece of trash. My god, why does this feel so good?"

Ninten couldn't help but smile, "I guess it's human nature to want to feel special by the people we love. What else did we do together? I also remembered a sense of dread while we were dancing too, like we were about to go off on some big war or something."

"Yes…" Ana said. "That dance was a calm before the storm." Without warning, Ana dropped Ninten's hands and hugged him. "It's so good to have you back, Nitnen. It's so good to know that this is _you._ "

Ninten slowly raised his arms to embrace her back, it was like deja vu with his mother earlier. He was glad he could make Ana happy again, it felt right to see her smile like this, but he still didn't remember all of his life, and he wasn't sure if he's even going to be the same once he does. And another troubling thought was about Lucas and the people in Tazmily, will he ever see them again? _Should_ he even see them again? Lucas and Claus… they were in a generation that didn't exist yet, or probably perished long ago. And then there was Ness, Ness didn't belong in this time period, that much was certain, how was he going to help Ness get back home? And when he does… will he never see him again either?

"Hey Ana… you said I could talk to you about anything, right?" Ninten asked as they slowly pulled away from the hug. "Well… now that I think about it… this situation I'm in… is very… hectic."

And so Ninten went on, telling Ana about his concerns, about never seeing his other friends ever again, and worried about how much he'll change if he does remember everything. Ana took each word in with wide eyes.

"Wow," she said. "I don't know what to say. I want you to stay here with me and your mom, but it sounds like your friends need you too. I… don't know what you should do."

"Fortunately, the choice isn't yours," rasped a voice from Ninten's side.

Ninten jerked his head to face towards the source of the noise. When he saw who was standing there, he had to blink multiple times to make sure that he wasn't just seeing things.

Porky was sitting inside of his mech, which stood not twenty feet away from Ninten and Ana.

"What are _you?_ " Ana asked, wrinkling her nose at Porky.

"Heh, don't remember me, princess?" Porky asked. "...Wait. You're the other one, aren't you? You're the throwaway. Person who looks like Ness, I'm talking to you. Do you know how _frustrating_ it is to search for my childhood enemy only to abduct his doppelganger?"

Ninten frowned and glared, "What's that supposed to mean? _You_ abducted me?"

"Oh right," Porky wheezed. "You wouldn't remember that, would you?"

"I never really met you, so why did you abduct me?" Ninten demanded. "Did you erase my memories?"

"I don't think that I need to say any more, considering that I messed up _again,_ " Porky wheezed. "But I swore that Ness was hovering around this time frame… and what kind of _friend_ would I be if I didn't fulfill my promise to him? ...I guess I don't care about you this time, whoever you are. Just don't get in my way."

The next second, Porky was gone.

"Uh… what?" Ana asked, blinking rapidly. "Did you see what I just did, or am I completely crazy?"

"..." Ninten was staring at the spot Porky was in a few seconds ago. His head started aching as he began to remember, remember who that was.

"Ninten?" Ana asked. "Are you okay?"

Ninten fell to his knees as he held his head. The memory was pounding against his head so much that it hurts.

"Ninten!"

"I… I… r-remember… he…" Ninten clenched his teeth. "He was..."

The pain was finally subsiding as he panted a bit. "I saw him… that old man… he was the last person I saw before I woke up in the forest with no memory of myself. I'm almost certain that he abducted me, just like he said."

Ana's face darkened into a scowl.

"So that guy caused all of our problems, and now he's going after Ness?" she asked. "Come on, Ninten. Now's our time to fight back. All of the worry and pain that I've felt from losing you… it's all _his_ fault. I won't let him get away with it."

Ana uttered the last sentence in a low growl. She looked up to Ninten, this time wearing a smirk.

"So let's go beat him up," Ana said. "I assume that you're in with me?"

Ninten didn't give an answer, instead he went into his house, probably making Ana worried that he rejected the idea.

 _Sorry Mom, I guess dinner will have to wait._

Ninten went into his room and picked up something before heading back outside.

"I'm with you. I've got a bone to pick with Porky after all," Ninten said, holding up his baseball bat made of steel.

A grin slowly crept onto Ana's face.

"All right," she said. "Let's do this!"


	22. Chapter 22: Borrowed Time

**Connor:** Hey, everyone! You guys ready for another chapter? If not, the back button is up and to the left. ;)

 **DarkFoxKit:** But if you are, that's great! :D Shall we get straight to the point?

 **Connor:** Sure, let's respond to the reviews! :)

 **Shimo no ko: Connor: ** Yeah, we couldn't go too long without the plot moving the characters along. A lot of readers (at least, judging by the reviews) felt that the change in focus was a little jarring, even for just a chapter. And yeah, Porky's a little dumb, but he _is_ really hard to kill, so he can afford to be sloppy. Ah, thanks! I write Ana's character, so I can take credit for a lot of the humor. :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** And thanks, Fyre's happy that you cared about him!

 **A Fan:** Yup. Watch out for those shrooms. Heh, I know what you mean by easily making a mistake with grammar on paper, unless you're talking out loud, it's pretty easy to make that mistake. But Connor, being Ana, just went along with it to make fun of the tyrant teacher. I've had that kind of teacher before in school, so I know how they're like. Is amnesia really that bad that it makes it hard for you to talk about? I get that it's an overused thing, but that doesn't mean it makes the story bad, it just depends on how you use it. Was the baseball bat really something like a deus ex machina? I had assumed Ninten kept it in his room naturally. And the one I had at the end of Earthbound Beginnings was made of platinum apparently, so steel really isn't that strong compared to it (I don't think). And it's probably natural this chapter feels off, because of the change in just about everything. ^^'

 **Connor:** I'm totally with you on the "not respecting people in my head" thing. :) I'm like the least assertive person ever (well, not _really,_ but it sometimes seems that way…).

 **Bloxxerstudios1:** **Connor** : I don't know what makes you sound more like a circus ringleader, your name or your intro. xD The drama is real, man. :) But yeah, thanks! We really appreciate feedback, positive or otherwise (so long as it's constructive). See you next time! :D

 **DarkFoxKit:** Glad to see you're enjoying Time Distorer as well as Rebuild or Reborn. X3

 **Guest:** You're welcome, some lucky timing there. :D

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** Good to hear you're doing okay and working out on a schedule. This chapter we did is… think of it as a break for our main characters. After all the crap they went through, they at least deserve one peaceful chapter, don't you think? And well, originally I wasn't going to have Ninten remember his mother either, but it just kinda flowed with Ninten remembering who she was. A mother is someone very important to our lives, who loved and raised us since birth, also the series is technically called Mother, so that was another reason. And yes, reviews like yours always make our day.

 **Connor:** Yeah, thanks for the criticism. It's good to know. :) I can definitely see what you mean; I think that the change in atmosphere wasn't justified enough. But that kind of stuff happens with a two-person fic. It can get quite difficult to plan out intricacies like that.

And that's too bad. :( Well, we all have our good weeks and our bad weeks (I'm sick right now, so my week is leaning towards the latter). There's no shame in crying. :) Tears are a biological mechanism for balancing emotions. Trying to hold tears in is honestly pretty silly. I mean, think about it. Don't you feel better after you cry? :) I cry all the time, and I definitely feel better afterwards. Ah, thanks! :) As writers, we both love getting reviews. Getting the positive ones like yours is a little more fun, but the criticism is important too. As I learned in psychology today, the day that you think that you're good enough is the day that you stop getting better (which I probably coulda figured out without a psychology class DX). See you later! :D

 **crabbyTomato: Connor: ** Heh, you're just making me want to brainwash Kumatora in Ceres more. :D Yeah, so many references like that are unintentional. You can read Japanese? That's pretty cool. :) English is the only language that I can speak/read at all, really. High school foreign language programs in America don't really teach us all that much. :( Oh yeah, a lot of America is pretty rural and disconnected. Still, 57! xD There was actually a teacher at my elementary school named Mrs. Bossert. I never had her, but she was apparently a huge control freak. xD Living up to her name, I guess. Oh yeah, I'm a total wimp right now and I probably will be for the rest of my life. I guess Ana is my way of coping with that. :( Nah, I'm not really upset about my wimpiness, but it is fun to write about adventurous characters since that's totally not me. And I think that I'll let Fox answer the rest of this review since I ended up writing way too much while responding to Orange's review. :x

 **DarkFoxKit:** I've had mean teachers before, but most of them were more like conniving snakes who punish you subtle and using emotions on you rather than actual logic. I'm not really sure they're worse than the control freak teachers like Bossert, but it's up there. I suppose there are moments in the story or scenes in movies that having no dialogue would make it more powerful. Also, I'm glad to see people liked that scene, I was worried it would come off as too cheesy. And oh boy, jealousy can and will come in at the slightest of things, especially in people who are in a relationship. It's mostly from insecure people, I think. But that dance scene Ninten and Ana did was pretty cute, huh? As for Ness, he'll be showing up soon.

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** It's good that you're focusing on your own stories, but it's also nice to hear from you every once in a while. And admittedly the original Mother isn't something I remember much either, I've only played it once. And as for the climax… weeeeell… I'll just let you see.

* * *

"Listen," Ness said to Loid's mother, trying to bury his irritation. "I'm sorry that I mentioned PSI. I was joking. I have no intention of using any of it."

Loid sighed as he said, "Hey Mom, we're going out for a bit, try not to freak out anymore, okay?"

"Just see to it that he doesn't hurt you, Loid," Loid's mother said.

When the two were outside, Loid said, "Sorry about my mom, Ness. She had a really bad experience with PSI…"

"No problem," Ness said. "And I can see why she doesn't trust me. _I_ wouldn't trust me in her situation. It's just a little… irritating."

"Tell me about it. She gets weary whenever Ana or Ninten comes over too," Loid said. "Speaking of those two, they went to Podunk. That's where Ninten lived, we're hoping it would jog more of his memory."

"Ah," Ness said. "What time is it, anyway? Don't you have school today?"

"School already ended," Loid said. "Hey, do you want to see Podunk too? I'm sure you must be curious where our friend came from, right?"

 _Wait,_ Ness thought, looking up at the sky. _It's already afternoon?_

"Sure," Ness said. "But judging from its name, I can't imagine that there's much to see there. By the way… what year is it?"

"Oh right, you came from a different timeline. It's 1989 here, does that tell you anything?" Loid asked.

"It's been 1989 years… since when?" Ness asked, not wanting to believe his good luck. "What's your reference date?"

"Since the day Jesus died and rose," Loid answered.

Ness breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, this is only seven years in my past. I could go to Onett and see myself as a little kid if I wanted to. That would probably freak me out, wouldn't it?"

"You mean you actually existed in this time period?" Loid looked at Ness in shock. "How did you and Ninten never meet? It's like you two are long lost twins or something."

"I live in Eagleland," Ness said with a shrug. "I don't know where this is, but there was probably an ocean separating us. That generally makes it hard for people to meet."

"I see what you mean. I heard that Eagleland is pretty far from here," Loid said. "Still, it would be interesting to have you two meet, you both can use PSI and all. Anyways, you want to come to Podunk with me? I want to see how Ana and Ninten are doing."

"Sure," Ness said. "Are you okay with teleporting?"

"Ninten used it all the time when he learned it from a baby in Youngtown," Loid chuckled. "I'm pretty much used to it. But do you even know where Podunk is? You need to know the place before you can teleport there."

"I figured out a loophole for that," Ness said. "If you think about it and I read your mind, then I basically know Podunk _through_ your memories. Well, I know it well enough to teleport, anyways. So… is it okay if I do that? I promise that I won't try to delve into your deep memories or anything like that."

"Huh… that's something I should tell Ana and Ninten later, that would've definitely been helpful in our travels…" Loid said. "Okay, teleporting is a lot faster than taking the bus."

Ness nodded. He still felt a bit guilty reading people's thoughts, so he had developed the skill of reading someone's mind, processing the information well enough to teleport there, and not really looking at anything else.

 _Real applicable skill there,_ Ness thought. _I can read someone's thoughts without actually reading most of their thoughts. Whoop de do._

Smiling to himself, Ness read Loid's mind well enough to formulate a picture of Podunk in his mind.

"Teleport Beta," Ness said, the world swirling around him as he phased through space and arrived at a new location.

Ness looked at his surroundings. He had thought that Onett was a small town, but that would make Podunk a village. There was seriously _nothing_ worth seeing here.

 _Well, this is it,_ he thought. _Ninten must have been bored out of his mind living here. But… I guess it is nice to see something familiar. Even the trees here look more similar to the ones we have in Eagleland. It surprises me how much I care about something so stupid._

"Welcome to Podunk, it certainly is a lot smaller than most cities and towns. Ninten's house is just over that hill, past Pippi's house," Loid explained, pointing at one of the smaller houses on the hill and a bigger one with a fence not too far away from it.

"I gotta refine my teleportation skills at some point," Ness said, "So that I don't have to walk anywhere. Wouldn't that be cool? I could avoid physical activity entirely! It's not like exercise is _important_ or anything, right?"

"... You're joking, right?" Loid looked at Ness. "You may look like Ninten, but you're a lot more carefree than he is. Well Ninten used to be pretty carefree too when I first met him, but I guess that changed after what happened to Teddy and EVE."

"I'm kind of joking," Ness said. _But only kind of._ "And what's this about Teddy and Eve?"

"Oh right, you wouldn't know. Teddy is a friend of ours. He's big and strong, and he helped Ninten and Ana climb up Mt. Itoi, which is known to be the most dangerous mountain in the country. I sat out during that time because I knew I wasn't strong enough to be of much help. But then… they were ambushed by a powerful robot, and Teddy took most of the brunt. I managed to save them with a tank, but Teddy was put in a coma. Then while we were climbing Mt. Itoi, we found an ancient robot that was programmed by Ninten's ancestor, its purpose was to protect us while we climb the mountain to find Giegue. But… well… a much more powerful robot than the last one attacked, and EVE had to sacrifice itself to save us. It broke something inside Ninten, he had snapped after that, it was scary," Loid gave a sigh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to delve in such depression topics."

"You need to work on succinct summaries," Ness said with a playful smile. "But… yeah. I know what you mean. I've seen people snap. It makes me feel so glad that all of _my_ friends are okay. But, you know… I wonder how long that will last. There's a reason that heroes disappear after they do their heroic things. Sometimes, I wonder just how much longer I really have left."

"That's a sad thing to think about. But in a way I'm almost glad Ninten lost his memory of our journey together, he may not remember us, but at least he's a lot happier than he had been in a long time… I'm not sure if I want him to remember to be honest. Would he be better off not remembering such a traumatizing adventure?" Loid asked.

"I think that he'll be fine even if he remembers his past, honestly," Ness said. "There's a difference between a steep drop into pain and a slow descension. In this case, Ninten should be able to contrast his bitterness with his more compassionate self from Tazmily."

"I hope you're right…" Loid said.

They soon made it to Ninten's house. Ness noticed a white dog sleeping in its doghouse. It almost reminded him of King. Loid rang the doorbell.

The door opened, revealing a somewhat young woman with blonde hair. She looked at Loid, "Loid?" Then she looked at Ness. "... Ninten? … No, you can't be Ninten. Who's this boy, Loid?"

"Uh… this is Ness, and he just looks like Ninten," Loid said. "Um… where is Ninten and Ana? We wanted to talk to them."

"Ninten and Ana left a little while ago. Too bad, I was almost done cooking Ninten's favorite dish," The mother said with a sigh. "But I guess when trouble calls, my son can't just sit out on it."

 _What would she say to me if she knew what I've done?_ Ness thought. _What would she say if she knew that I tried to knock her son out? What would my mom think of someone who tried to knock me out?_

Ness grimaced. The world kept getting more and more complicated.

"Did they say where they went?" Ness asked. "And what did you mean when you said that trouble calls? Is something wrong, ma'am?"

"I was inside the house at the time, but Ninten and Ana were having a talk when this weird mechanic spider with some old man inside it came out of nowhere. Ninten grabbed his bat from his room and left, but I know my boy, he didn't want to hurt me by saying he had to go just after he came home. He wanted to deal with that… thing, whatever it was," Ninten's mother said.

Ness felt the blood drain from his face.

"Claire, do you know which way they went?" Loid asked.

"I saw them going north, where the old zoo was," Claire answered. "I just hope they don't go back to Mt. Itoi…"

"Why?" Ness asked, his heart pounding in his chest. "What's there?"

"Mt. Itoi is a very dangerous place, from what I've been told, aliens were spotted there. Things that look like star people, and UFOs. I also heard that many adults were kidnapped and being experimented on by an alien called Giegue. My precious little Ninten went all the way there just to battle with it. I was so worried that he wouldn't come home…" Claire said, shaking a little. "What if that alien comes back? I don't want my sweet Ninten to die to that thing."

"Already did," Ness muttered, "And I think we killed it a second time. Loid, do you know why they would go to the zoo? What are they after? Shelter? Communications?"

Claire just gave Ness a confused look on his earlier comment.

Loid began thinking before he said, "The zoo had been quite deserted of human beings since the animals went crazy, from what Ninten told me. It's probably an ideal place for thinking or maybe battling with something dangerous, away from other people. But other than that, I'm not sure why they'd go _there_ of all places."

 _They don't understand,_ Ness thought. _Porky won't follow them. He'll lure us out with blood and screams. He still has my family… Mom… Tracy…_

"Loid," Ness said, surprised at how hard his voice sounded. "We need to talk in private. Is that alright?"

Loid frowned when he noticed how serious Ness looked. "Yeah, sure. We'll be outside, Claire."

Claire frowned, but nodded.

Once the boys were outside, Loid asked, "What's wrong?"

"Listen," Ness said. "That little old man in a robot mech is probably more dangerous than anything you've ever faced before. He's not like Giygas; he understands what makes us tick. And he knows how to use that against us. Oh my god, what am I going to do? I can't escape from him even if I run to the edge of the world. I have to fight him, but he'll destroy entire cities just to make me feel bad. I know that sounds conceited, but it's true. Do you have _anything_ powerful enough to defeat someone like that?"

"First of all, who's Giygas? Second, what's your history with this old man? Third, I have various of weapons from my adventure with Ninten and Ana, but I don't know which one to use for someone like that. If he's using advanced future technology it's going to be hard to counter something like that," Loid said. "Actually… maybe you should go ahead and get to the zoo yourself, I'll bring in the heaviest artillery as I can and meet you there. Ninten and Ana may need your help if this old man is as threatening as you say."

"That won't work," Ness said. "Porky is going to start slitting throats until we come to him."

"Ness…"

"Oh my god, why did I think that I could run away from him? ...Gah, I know that self-pity isn't going to solve anything, but it's hard for me to do much else. What are we supposed to do against a foe with no moral principles?"

"Ness!"

"Even if we win, Porky will murder dozens of civilians just to weigh us down…" Ness trailed off. "No. There's another way that might work. I could kill myself."

"NESS!" Ness felt a sharp but small pain in his shoulder.

Loid was holding a small gun in his hand; he had used it to shoot Ness's shoulder. "Get a grip, will you? You think killing yourself is going to solve everything? He may have tortured you, but from what you told me that won't stop him from doing a mass genocide with everyone else. All you're doing is running away. I don't know about you, but I rather fight a hopeless fight than just let myself die a meaningless death. I'm going to go help my friends, with or without you. You have the knowledge we could use, but you have to cooperate with us. Enough of your self pity, enough of your fear, it's either do or die and I rather do before I die, especially by my own hands."

"...Should have expected you to say that," Ness said. "That I'm running away by killing myself. I don't think it's that simple, Loid. It's possible that I'm arrogant, but… you have to understand where Porky's coming from, Loid. He doesn't care about you. He doesn't care about anyone. He's lived for so long that he cares about _nothing_ but his past. And I am part of his past. If I die, he'll leave your timeline alone."

"I'm not saying it's that simple Ness. I may not know Porky's story like you do, but I don't think he doesn't care about his past. If he truly didn't, why would he bother going after you? Why would he go through all this trouble just to get you? If he didn't care, he'd leave you alone. There must be something about you that he cares about, but maybe I'm being stupid and naive. I didn't suffer as much as you did. However, I can't just believe that this Porky would just leave the timeline alone if you die. Ness, this is your battle, you know this. Don't run from it, or you'll be leaving the rest of us at the mercy of Porky, is that what you really want?"

"Sure, if it keeps you alive," Ness hissed. "What makes you think that he'll stick around after I'm dead? Sorry if this sounds arrogant, but he doesn't care about you! I'm the one that he's after. He's a broken machine, and his rage is the only thing keeping him functioning. Take that away, and what will he do? I don't think that he'll be doing much!"

"Then what will happen to a broken machine if the only one who can fix it is gone?" Loid asked.

"I think that he'll peter out and die. What does he have left to care about? His present doesn't really exist, and he has too much control over his future for it to be interesting. After he's dealt with the past, I think that he'll call it a day and die. And even if he doesn't… I think that he'll be easier to beat when he's not trying to hunt me down."

"You seem pretty convinced that Porky will stop everything he's doing once you're gone," Loid said in a low tone. "But what if he doesn't stop? What then? You can't guarantee he'll stop just because you're dead. If he can travel through time, even in death, you won't ever escape him."

"Well," Ness said. "He obviously won't travel back earlier to haunt me because I have no recollection of that. He's had his chance and he will have his chances, but he won't take them. Otherwise, I would remember something. And killing myself was just an idea. If you have a better one, I'm all ears. I just don't consider 'hunker down and wait until he lures us out by slaughtering people we love' a viable option."

"I'm not saying do that at all. You and Ninten came here with a time machine, correct?" Loid asked.

"Yeah," Ness said. "Why?"

"Take me back to that time machine, I might be able to make a use out of that hunk of metal," Loid said.

"What are you going to do?" Ness asked. "Teleport!"

The next second, Ness and Loid were standing in the field right outside Merrysville. The time machine right next to them, sticking up awkwardly amidst a sea of grass.

Loid went right over to the time machine and inspected it. "If I can… I might be able to make a weapon out this, or at least a device that could come in handy when fighting against a time lord. This machine seems pretty old yet advanced." The gray haired boy dug into his pocket and pulled out some tools. "Still, it doesn't seem too complicated to work with."

"What weapon?" Ness asked. "What device? I might be able to form a plan around it."

"Hmm… yes, a PSI user might make it a lot easier…" Loid mumbled to himself. "I'm going to see if I can make a portal time machine for you and Ninten. If I could turn it into a weapon, that would be nice, but that might be a bit too hard. If I could just make it so it can still use the power of time, then you won't have to worry about Porky using his own time gadgets against you, you'll be immune. And if he chooses to escape through another time period, you can go after him. I plan to make it so it can detect his mech through the time stream, but it's definitely going to be hard. Perhaps your PSI could help with that."

"That's a good plan," Ness said, trying not to jump straight into criticism. "Is there any way that you could make it so that Porky can't jump around time and take hostages? That will be his greatest weapon against us."

"Ah, good thinking there. Perhaps I was thinking a little too rash," Loid said with a smile. "Well that could be our weapon then. If you could get the device into his mech, it should cancel out his own time device, that is assuming he doesn't find and destroy it of course. The hard part is getting it stuck on his mech. I don't think he'll be making it easy for you."

"That could work…" Ness said. "And it might be easier than you think. Porky's a little arrogant." Ness paused. "Heh, what's this feeling? Almost feels like… hope. It's been awhile." Ness shook his head ruefully, turning to Loid. "...Thanks. I'm not going to apologize for bringing up the option of suicide, because it made logical sense and I needed to at least consider it or it would have kept bugging me for weeks. But I _am_ sorry that I kept snapping at you. And… even though I don't value my life at all, really, I'm glad that we could come up with another plan."

"..." Loid began working on the time machine as fast as he could. "Ness, why don't you value your life? If you have PSI, that must mean you did something big in your own timeline, like we did, so why do you think your life isn't important?"

"Easy," Ness said with a smile. "I've already done everything that I want to. I've come close to death so many times that I consider this borrowed time. In the few months that I spent travelling around the world and fighting Giygas, I lived more than most people have in their entire lives. I'm ready to go now. But hey, if I can make a difference while I'm alive… why not live a little longer?"

"That's sad, coming from someone your age," Loid sighed. "But I suppose I can't really change your mind about that." He took out some pieces of the time machine and began tinkering with them. "I've never been good at emotional support or psychology stuff. Maybe if I was I wouldn't have gotten picked on at school so much."

"I don't think that my view is sad at all," Ness said. "I've already experienced a life more fulfilling than most people can dream of. To want more is greedy. That's why I'm trying to give back, in life and in death. And you're not _bad_ with emotions. I'm just a bit of a special case… meaning that I'm extra crazy. So, how long do you think that it will take to tinker with that machine?"

"Hopefully not too long, but maybe a few hours. I never knew anyone who's so… satisfied with their life that they're just waiting for death to claim them," Loid said as he began putting the pieces together. "I'm going to use your PSI as a power source for this, is that okay?"

"Do I have to stay here for the full few hours?" Ness asked. "Because I was planning on running interference."

"Where do you plan to go?" Loid asked.

"To the zoo," Ness said. "Then I can pretend like I'm trying to lure Pokey in. He'll hold hostages. It kills time. If you want, I could send Ana or Ninten over here to provide psionic power for the machine."

"I would suggest you bring Ana here. With Ninten in this state, he most likely don't have a lot of control over his PSI and I need precise amount of PSI for this machine, or it'll either be not enough or too much and it'll explode," Loid said. "I'm counting on you. And if I never see you again after this… it was nice knowing you, Ness."

"Same," Ness said. "But I don't think that we're going to die. Porky isn't nearly as crafty as he thinks that he is. The question is if we can prevent innocent people from getting hurt." Ness' eyes locked with Loid. "I think _that's_ what makes this different from our adventure. I've been thinking about that while in the other timeline. Victory is about more than beating the bad guys. It's making sure that everyone can see the sunrise tomorrow."

"Yeah. Heh…" Loid chuckled. "Ninten said the same thing to us once, maybe you two aren't so different after all. Well, you better hurry and get over there, who knows what kind of damage Porky could be doing right now."

Ness nodded.

"Teleport," he whispered, hoping that the world would still be intact by the time that the sun set.


	23. Chapter 23: Immortal

**DarkFoxKit:** I apologize that I hadn't post Rebuild and Reborn last Monday. I was working on another fanfiction lately and lost track of time. ^^'

 **Connor:** I'm sure that the readers understand. Life happens, after all. :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yeah, but at least we're still able to update Time Distorter! Shall we get to the reviews?

 **Connor:** Sure! Let's go!

 **Shimo no ko: ****DarkFoxKit:** Yeah, there was surprisingly a lot of Ness angst in this chapter. ^^' It makes you wonder what the protagonists do after you finish the game. As for the years being parallel to their games' release dates, yeah pretty much. In EarthBound they said the year was 199X so we kinda assume it's the same year as when the game was released, which was 1994 I believe. And again, I'm sorry for the late updates for Rebuild or Reborn, we'll try to update it next Monday.

 **Connor:** Well, it's not really angst in my opinion since Ness isn't sad about anything (that's my interpretation, at least). And he did say that his not caring about life stems more from contentment than anything else. But I'm glad that he affected you in such a profound way. :)

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight: Connor: ** Well, Ness isn't really depressed. Eh… maybe sorta. I think it's a little different since he can still feel positive emotions (love, joy, ect.). And Ness has personal space boundaries. I don't think that he would appreciate "the biggest hug of his life." ;) And I know that you weren't being serious about the Dialga part, but we're not going to delve into any of the unraveling time stuff. See you later! :D

 **PSIBoy:** **DarkFoxKit:** This was more of a build-up chapter for what's to come. The whole going back to the past thing was something I wanted to try out, even if it meant keeping the story going longer than we intended. I like the idea that Ninten goes back to his own timeline but had no memory of it. Lucas and Claus are still vital to the story as you will see later on. Don't underestimate Porky, just because he's a childish jerk doesn't mean he's an idiot. I'm not sure how amnesia works either, only from what I saw on TV, admittedly. But hey, if we tried to make everything realistic, it'd get pretty boring and complicated. And it kinda makes you wonder if Ninten is better off not remembering what he went through on his adventure or not.

 **Connor:** Well, Ness would argue that he didn't have a mental breakdown. Like he said, he needed to contemplate suicide right then from a logical standpoint so that he _wouldn't_ have a mental breakdown about it later. But if that's your interpretation, I won't try to persuade you otherwise. :) And I feel like a lot of Ness' contentment with dying comes from disparity in psychological capabilities. To oversimplify a bit, kids and adults have different thought processes and mindsets in general, so Ness has maxed out on most of the kid stuff without trying much of the adult way of thinking. So he thinks that he's done it all, but there's this whole new set of mental faculties that he hasn't explored yet. Again, it's an oversimplification, but I think that it captures his ignorance a bit. Yeah, teacher was a one-shot character. Not supposed to be deep. :) See you later! :D

* * *

Ness appeared in the zoo, his heart pounding in his chest. He forced himself to walk instead of run; he would _not_ let himself panic.

 _Now,_ he thought, looking around at the caged animals. _Where are Ana and Ninten?_

It didn't take him long to hear the talking. He walked into a building where he supposed the zookeepers worked, the old door creaking open. In the zoo's seemingly abandoned state, Ness expected cobwebs to line the inside walls, but it looked surprisingly well maintained. He took a look around, spotting Ninten and Ana. They looked at him curiously.

"Hello," Ness said. "Glad to see you two still alive."

"..." Ninten seemed awfully quiet. Something must've happened, but Ana looked fine, what was wrong with Ninten?

"Is everything alright?" Ness asked. "I mean, everything besides an ancient child in a spider mech on the loose."

"Everything is… fine, Ness…" Ninten said. "We tried to locate him, but lost sight of him around here…"

"And the worst part is that I get the feeling that he _planned_ for all of this," Ana said. "Bastard."

"Ana," Ness said. "I know that this is a strange request, but I need you to head over to where you first found me and Ninten. Loid is waiting there with a little… assignment for you."

"Why can't you do it?" Ana asked.

"I need to be here to lure Porky."

"..." Ana turned to look at Ninten. "What about him? Do you want me to go alone?"

"Ninten can go with you if he wants," Ness said. "Do you want to go with Ana, Ninten?"

Ninten looked at Ana and at Ness, before he said, "I… I think I better stay with Ness. Porky's very dangerous, and I don't feel comfortable leaving Ness alone to face him. Is that okay, Ana?"

Ana looked at Ness, her eyes narrowing.

"How much do you trust him, Ninten?" Ana asked. "Because from what I can read from his mind, this plan of his is crazy with a capital K."

"I know Ness is… very unpredictable, but his plans haven't failed to work yet, and what would we do if Porky manages to succeed? Ness is the only one who knows him, _we'd_ be sitting ducks for that tyrant," Ninten said.

 _Dang,_ Ness thought. _He trusts me more than he probably should._

"Fine," Ana said. "I'll go through with this, even though I think that we'll end up dead before the sun sets." She paused. "But… if what you fear is real…" she shook her head. "The choice is not so difficult, is it? All right; I'm off."

Ana walked towards the door. As she was about to open the door, she turned back.

"Try not to get yourselves killed, all right? I know that I can be… flippant, but I do care about both of you."

"You too," Ness said.

"You take care of yourself too, Ana…" Ninten said as she left. "Ness, what _do_ you know about Porky?"

"We were childhood friends," Ness said with a shrug. "He's not really human anymore. There's a reason that we die off, Ninten. At some point, there's no point to living any longer. Porky has passed that point a long time ago. He only cares about his past… and I'm part of it. He'll try to make us feel bad in every way that he can. He's a little insane, but he _is_ clever. Just… maybe not as clever as he would like to believe."

"I see… so he must've came back to this timeline and mistook me for you then…" Ninten said softly. "I had no part of his past, and thus I was dumped out like yesterday's trash, along with my memory. Ness, what will we do when we confront him? Will we even be able to restrain or even kill him if it gets to that point?"

"Loid has a plan to deactivate Porky's mech," Ness said. "After that… we'll see."

Ninten nodded, "Yeah, I think Loid is a really smart kid. What happened to this zoo anyways? There used to be a lot of animals here, right? Now all the cages are empty and broken. I can't help but think some star creature is responsible for it."

"Starmen?" Ness suggested. "...Regardless, we should probably start. I don't want to risk Porky discovering Loid and Ana."

Without waiting for Ninten's confirmation, Ness closed his eyes.

 _He's going to hold hostages,_ Ness thought. _He'll make us weep by hurting innocents._

 _Will we break?_

 _"_ _Porky!"_ Ness shouted, broadcasting the telepathic message as far as he could. _"Porky! I know that you're out there! Come here, so we can settle this alone!"_

"Ness, what did you do?" Ninten asked, rubbing the side of his hatless head.

"I broadcasted a message," Ness said. "Everyone can perceive it, but most people will think that they're just hearing things. I'm hoping that Porky focuses on me instead of Loid and Ana."

"Do you think it'll work?" Ninten frowned.

There was a strange static noise in Ness's head, like a TV signal having trouble coming on.

 _"_ _... ss… lo…? Is…. thi… ng on? … Ah, hello Ness, it seems you've caught my attention. Don't you think it'll be too easy to just settle it all here and now?"_

"Yes," Ness told Ninten with a cheeky smile, while Ninten just rolled his eyes at him.

 _"_ _...What do you mean?"_ Ness asked, faking fear in his voice.

"You can't hear me now, right?" Ness asked Ninten. "I should be talking to just Porky now."

"I can't hear you unless I use Telepathy on you," Ninten said.

 _"_ _Oh Ness, it's been such a long time since we got together and played as friends; why do you want to end it off so soon? The best part hasn't even come up yet! I wanted to see you squirm and break. Which is why I let you play with my little commander toy,"_ Ness heard Porky say back to him.

 _"_ _He's not a toy!"_ Ness shouted, not having to feign anger.

 _"_ _Of course he is, every chimera that's been created under my rule is my play thing. I can do whatever I want with it. But letting you get attached to it was so much fun to watch that I had to see what happens if I continued to let you corrupt my favorite toy. I allowed you free roam with him, to see if you can get him to remember his humanity, and then see the look on your face when I tear him away from you just when you finally got through to him. But of course, you had to get too close to a certain thing I wanted to keep you away from."_

 _"_ _Are you sure?"_ Ness asked. _"I almost think that you wanted me to activate it. Why else put it out in the open?"_

 _"_ _It was a piece of junk! It didn't work anymore, but of course you always made a way to make the impossible possible. Oh but I'm sure you're not here to just talk to me all day with your oh so special psychic powers, you want to get straight down to business, is that it?"_

 _Please, no,_ Ness thought to himself. _I just want to stall._

 _"_ _Yes!"_ Ness yelled.

 _"_ _As you wish."_

"What happened?" Ninten asked

"Well, Porky took the bait," Ness said. "...Maybe."

"Right, and that bait was to lure him here and hope that Loid and Ana get back here before he kicks our butts, is that it?" Ninten deadpanned. "Well I hope you packed a lot of food if we hope to survive this."

"We can take him," Ness said with a confident smile. "I'm just worried that he'll bring hostages, which means more theatrics."

"How are you so sure we can take him? … Hmm… didn't you say something about a stalling technique?" Ninten asked.

"Yeah," Ness said. "...Wait. You don't know about the psionic stall? Kids these days…" Ness rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

"Sor-ry, it's not like I have all my memories back or anything!" Ninten grumbled. "What is psionic stall and how do you use it? I have a feeling I'll be needing that when Porky decides to show up."

"Just focus on not dying," Ness said. "It pretty much works on its own. I'll heal us if we need it; I enough psionic power to last us for quite a while."

Ninten gave a nod, "I'd help with the healing, but I only know how to use the alpha stage…"

"Hey," Ness said. "I don't think that Porky is actually going to come here and attack us when he can lure us out, but do you know if there's anything here that could help us in combat? Weapons, technology… anything useful at all?"

"Uh… oh, well I did find this in my pocket…" Ninten pulled out a small badge-like object, it had a lightning bolt symbol. "I'm not sure if it could be counted as a technology or weapon, but there's something about it that… I don't know, seems useful?"

"That's a Franklin Badge," Ness said, feeling a burst of excitement. "It's psionically enhanced to reflect lightning attacks… but I guess that doesn't help us much against Porky, does it?"

"Not unless he uses lightning or some kind of beam attack," Ninten said. "I also brought my steel bat to fight with." Ninten took out the bat made of steel from his own backpack.

"Nice," Ness said. "...What's taking Porky so long? He can travel through time!"

As if on cue, the ground under them began shaking. Ness and Ninten wobbled around while something in the ground began to come out.

"Is he coming out of the ground like an underground monster?" Ninten asked as they saw the legs of the mech come out first.

The legs pinned to the ground as it lift the rest of itself out. The old man inside the mech was grinning as he moved out of the hole he created.

 _No way,_ Ness thought. _He showed up. He's either confident or stupid. Eh, probably both._

"Well, well, well, looks like the Ness twins came together," Porky said as he wheezed a bit.

"Are you ready to answer for your crimes?" Ness asked, brandishing his own baseball bat.

 _"_ _Don't attack,"_ he mentally told Ninten. _"It's probably a trap of some sort. Ah, the things that you can do when you have millenia to learn…"_

"Don't act like you're my final judge, Ness," Porky said. "I've got a surprise for you."

At the top of the mech, there was a slot. The slot opened up and one of the legs reached into it. When the leg came out, it had a large glass chamber hanging on it, and inside the chamber were two small girls and a woman with blonde hair. They were in suspended animation.

Ninten's eyes widen in horror, "He has my mother!"

"Oh how forgetful you are, it's not just your mother I have here. Do you recognize these two?" Porky asked as he kept grinning that sadistic grin.

"N-no I don't… s-should I?" Ninten frowned in confusion and unease.

"These two are your sisters, my how quick you are to forget your own family!" Porky laughed before he started hacking a bit.

 _Now this I did not expect,_ Ness thought. _I thought that he would hold my family hostage. Does he think that Ninten is more vulnerable? Why would he risk bringing people who I might not care about? Gah, this implies that he knew that Ninten would be here with me. So many questions and no answers!_

"I can see that confused look on your face, Ness. You're probably wondering why did I go through the trouble of taking your look-alike's family instead of yours, right?" Porky said as if reading Ness's mind. "Well, I've seen you squirm yet you always find a way to get out of it. Well, this time I want to see how you'll get out of when your own comrade turns against you. Can you guess what that means?"

 _"_ _Play along,"_ Ness told Ninten telepathically. _"Try to kill me when he tells you to. Don't hold back. If you have to kill me to keep the act going… do it."_

"W-What?" Ness asked, taking a step back. "N-No…"

"Yes, and I know you have your fancy psychic powers, you could easily communicate with your look-alike there to just play along." Porky grinned. "Which is why I've been using this."

Porky held up some kind of glowing orb. "It was one of Dr. Andonuts' latest creation before you and my toy robot stole him away. As long as I have it on me, PSI powers have no effect within range. And no, I will not tell you how long the range is since I know you'll try to get out of it, keeping you guessing will make you unsure how far you have to go."

"Offense up omega!" Ness shouted.

Nothing happened.

"...Urgh," Ness said, exaggerating his frustration.

"It seems he's thought of everything…" Ninten said quietly.

 _Yeah,_ Ness thought. _That orb really tips the scales. It's so much harder to pull of improvised stunts without PSI._

"Now then, I can take you back the easy way, or we can do this the hard way, Ness. I'm fine with either way, but knowing you it's definitely the latter," Porky said before wheezing a bit.

"So you'll kill them if I don't come with you?" Ness asked.

"No, that would be too easy," Porky said. "And I don't like it when things are _too_ easy. Instead, they'll become my newest human chimeras, to replace the one you took."

"N-no! Please, leave my family out of this!" Ninten yelled.

"Then perhaps we could trade. Ness for your family, that is, if you even have the memory and heart to care about them," Porky sneered at Ninten.

"How do I know that you'll give Ninten his family back once I go with you?" Ness asked.

"You don't, but does your friend really want to take that chance?" Porky asked, still looking at Ninten.

Ninten himself was looking very torn. He had a death grip on his baseball bat as he looked between Ness and the people inside the chamber.

 _This is kind of going as planned,_ Ness thought. _But that orb complicates things. We need to get rid of it, but it's inside of Porky's mech. How can we possibly get in there?_

"I don't know if I can do this, Ninten," Ness said. "If I go with Porky, I don't think that he'll release your family…"

Ness didn't know what was going through Ninten's head right now, but he could tell that the boy was struggling to decide what to do. Without their PSI, Ness couldn't use Telepathy to help him.

"My family is in danger… and it's all my fault…" Ninten said sadly. "I can't just fight you Ness… but I don't want my family to become chimeras… to be like… what Claus is… or was…"

Ness turned to Porky.

"So if Ninten fights me, then you won't hurt his family?" Ness asked.

"I don't have any real use for his family once I have you, Ness, so I won't hurt them," Porky said. "I rather watch an entertaining show after all."

"An entertaining show with no PSI involved?" Ness asked. "That doesn't seem like a whole lot of fun."

"A life or death match between you two without PSI does sound kind of boring, but better that than risk you two planning inside your own heads," Porky said.

 _Was worth a shot,_ Ness thought.

"Ninten…" he said, holding up his bat. "Do it."

Ninten stared at Ness as if he just grew two extra heads. "But I can't! You're… you're my friend! I can't fight you! And anyways you're a lot stronger than I am…"

"That's a good point," Ness said. "What happens if I win, Porky?"

"Then I will take Ninten in your place. He may not be you, but that's okay, he'll become my newest commander," Porky answered.

 _Even if he's dead?_ Ness thought. _Geez, Porky's persistent. But I don't doubt him._

"So either way, we lose," Ninten growled.

Ninten sighed before he looked up at Ness and said, "Alright Ness, let's do this. Porky wants a show, so let's give it to him."

Ninten seemed so cold all of a sudden, like his unwillingness to fight just vanished and he was as cold as a machine.

 _Just like Bud,_ Ness thought, the thought of his friend turning into an actual chimera sending a chill down his spine.

Ness gritted his teeth, taking a step forward.

 _Are we… really going to do this? Can I hurt my friend like this? I mean, I did before, but that was for his own good._

Ninten ran at Ness without hesitation and swung his baseball bat at him. Ness barely got his bat up in time to parry. His eyes narrowed as the bats locked.

"Didn't think that you would be so quick to persuade," Ness whispered. "All right; let's go."

Ness countered with a flurry of attacks against Ninten. There was no finesse to his swings; he fought by trying to brute force his way through Ninten's defenses.

Ninten was a lot faster than Ness was, even without the Quick Up, he managed to dodge a few attacks though Ness was able to get in a few hits.

Ninten hit Ness's bat with his own before he lean over to his face and said, "What would you have done if they were your family?"

"I'm not blaming you," Ness said. "I _did_ tell you to attack me, after all."

"Yes, but…" Ninten hesitated. "Isn't there some way to get rid of that orb?"

"Don't think so," Ness said, taking another swing.

But now that he thought about it… something about that orb did seem oddly familiar.

Ninten then jumped away from Ness and sighed, "You're strong even without PSI, I don't think I can win."

 _That's why I'm not trying my hardest,_ Ness thought. _I'm only trying to kill time._

"This hurts, doesn't it?" Ness asked. "Hang onto that pain, Ninten. Because this _should_ hurt. Pain isn't a punishment. It just shows that we care. But… how long can we keep whacking each other before one of us breaks?"

"That's a good question…" Ninten sighed.

"NESS! NINTEN!" They heard someone shouting to them.

Ness heart leapt. He turned around to see Ana carrying the time machine and Loid trailing behind her.

"Quickly!" Ana shouted. "We can use this to escape!" She gestured towards the time machine

Ness read the truth in Ana's eyes. She wanted to lure Pokey in so that he would make contact with the time machine, which would shut down his mech.

"You have that hunk of junk?" Porky was looking over at them.

"Yes, and it's operational! We'll escape by using it!" Loid said loudly.

Porky gave a grin.

"Nobody's escaping from me," he wheezed.

Porky pushed a button in the mech and it shot out several things at once, it was too hard to see what he did exactly. Ness just knew Porky shot some kind of weapon at Loid and Ana, and exploded. When the dust and debris cleared, Ness was relieved to see Loid and Ana were fine, but there was no trace of the time machine.

"Uh…" Ana said, looking up at Ninten's mom and sisters. "Plan B. Let's teleport out of here!"

"Can't," Ness whispered. "That orb uses a lot of PSI power to nullify _our_ PSI."

"Oh yeah," Ana said, wrinkling her nose. "I can _sense_ it, all right."

"So it looks like I have more playmates," Porky said. "This should be interesting."

"What should we do?" Loid fidgeted. "I can still use my Bottle Rockets on him!"

"Then he'll kill Ninten's family," Ana said. "Or will he? People usually aren't so quick to eliminate the only thing that they can use to gain leverage over others."

"We have to do _something_!" Loid frowned before realizing someone was missing. "... Where's Ninten?"

"Guys," Ana said. "There's something familiar about that orb. Do you sense it?"

 _I'm not the only one who notices it!_ Ness thought. _But wait… something that's familiar to me probably wouldn't be familiar to Ana. Why do we both recognize it?_

"Ninten!?" Loid yelled urgently.

 _Huh?_ Ness thought.

Ninten jumped from behind Porky's mech and slammed his baseball bat on the glass chamber keeping Porky in. Ness felt a rush of dismay upon seeing that the attack didn't deal any visible damage to the mech.

"What the-!? How'd you get up here!?" Porky growled in surprise as his mech struggled a bit with the sudden assault.

"Let them go!" Ninten shouted as he continued to strike the mech.

"Get off of me!" Porky snapped as he pushed a button.

One of the mech's legs turned into a sharp spear and stabbed Ninten. Ninten, despite being hurt, clinged onto the mech and continued smashing it.

"Ninten!" Ana shouted, running forward.

"Stubborn one," Porky growled.

The mech shoot out those weapons again, all of them hitting Ninten at point blank range. Ninten flew back as he dropped his baseball bat, skidding on the ground a few feet away. He didn't get back up.

"Ninten!" Ana shouted again, running up to his body. "Lifeup… gah! I can't use PSI! I'm… worthless."

"Ana," Ness said walking up. "Do you have any medicine?"

"Who carries medicine around with them where they go?" Ana snapped.

Right then, Ness heard a sound that he couldn't quite comprehend.

But while he couldn't comprehend it, he could _definitely_ recognize it.

"Giygas…" Ness whispered to himself, looking at the orb. "It sounds just like when we fought him…" a chill ran down Ness' spine.

He looked up at Ana, who also seemed spooked.

"The only time we heard that sound…" Loid said as he joined them. "Was when we fought with Giegue."

 _But where could it have come from?_ Ness thought.

"Now," Porky wheezed, bringing Ness back to reality. "One of your precious friends is unconscious. While this wasn't my idea of a fight to the death, it's rather poetic to have to kill your wounded friend, no? One of you three will kill the Ness look-alike, or I'll take him _and_ his family to be brainwashed."

"No…" Ana said, hugging her arms. "No! We won't do it!"

"And we won't let you take him or his family!" Loid shouted, taking out his bottle rockets.

"Uh, guys?" Ness asked. "Why is the orb extra glowy right now? It's been that way ever since we heard that weird sound…"

Then it clicked.

"Do you think…" Ana whispered. "Do you think that _he_ lives inside of there ever since we fended him off? That's crazy!"

"But if _he_ is, then it's impossible to break that orb!" Loid said. "Unless… Ana, do you remember how we beat Giegue?"

"I'll never forget it," Ana replied.

"You three may want to stop chatting," Porky said. "I'm starting to lose my patience. Kill the Ness look-alike or his family goes with him. Do I need to remind you that you have no way out?"

Ana stood up straight.

"We _do_ have a way out!" she announced.

"And what is that?" Porky asked, seeming amused.

Ana started singing.

* * *

It was all black for Ninten. There was nothing but the abyss for him, and he couldn't move.

 _Am I dead? Heh… how fitting for someone like me to just die while they fall into the darkness of their mind…_

Ninten closed his eyes as the silence around him became deafening. Then there was a sweet angelic voice breaking through the darkness.

 _What… what is that…?_ Ninten slowly opened his eyes as the darkness around him became a little brighter. _Oh… it… sounds like… someone is singing…_

 _Who's singing? And… what kind of song is this?_ Ninten saw the darkness around him beginning to crack. _It feels… warm…_

That song… Ninten definitely recognized it from somewhere. When he heard it, he wanted to both cheer and cry, cheer for the luminescence of the song and cry at the harsh aura that the song was trying to break through.

 _Urgh…_ Ninten thought. _Definitely… heard this before._

For a second, Ninten was standing on top of a desolate mountain, an alien with psychic power running as deep as an abyss pushing on his mind. Ninten's head started throbbing.

 _Giegue…_

The scene before him vaporized as soon as it came, bringing Ninten back to the present. Gingerly, he sat up, every part of his body screaming for him to stop. Ninten heard an unearthly _scream,_ and then the orb turned dull.

More memories started coming, memories of a life before, memories of _him._

"We did it!" Ana exclaimed. "Giegue's power fled the orb. We can use PSI again!"

"That doesn't matter," Porky said, and Ninten could detect cracks in his normally stoic composure. " _None_ of this matters. I still hold hostages! Are you willing to risk their lives? Perhaps I should kill one of them just to show you what happens when you mess with me!"

Ninten wobbled a bit as he tried to get on his feet, seeing Ness, Ana, and Loid getting ready to fight with Porky.

"That device he destroyed was our only chance of fighting him," Loid said. "Without it, he'll just escape through time even if we gained the upper hand."

Ninten rubbed his head as it felt like a lot of memories just smashed themselves into his brain at once. He was still feeling disorientated as his mind was trying to sort through everything.

 _Escape through time…?_ Ninten thought to himself through his hazy mind.

"I think that I'll do that," Porky said. "I'll kill one of the sisters-"

At that point, Ninten remembered _everything_ about who he was before. A dam in his mind broke, letting all of the memories flood into his mind. He remembered playing with his sisters… hearing them laugh and smile...

He would _not_ let Porky take that away from him. From in his memories, he found another ability that he could use.

Ninten gritted his teeth before he whispered, "4th D Slip Reverse."

The world around him melted and clicked, before he found himself several minutes back in the past. The time machine was still in one piece at the moment; Loid and Ana stood in front of it, wearing looks of determination. Porky pressed a button inside of his mech. Ninten knew from his memory what would happen next.

Just as Porky fired a ray at the time machine, Ninten grabbed the device and rolled away, saving the time machine from destruction by Porky's hands. Closing his eyes, Ninten silently sang the melody song, ridding the orb's power over him.

"4th D Slip."

Just like before, the world around him melted and clicked. The whole event (grabbing the time machine, singing the song, and going back to the present) took only a fraction of a second. An observer focused on Porky would probably have missed it entirely.

Was that what happened when Porky had "destroyed" the machine, or had he really altered the past? Time shenanigans never made sense.

Ninten suddenly felt weak as his body fell over.

 _Oh right, I forgot that I took heavy damage earlier…_

"Lifeup Gamma." Ninten healed all his injuries in a fast rate, before getting on his feet. "That's better. I hate it how psionic stall sometimes make you forget you're still in danger of dying."

"Loid, Ana, is this the device you were talking about?" Ninten asked the two.

"Wah? Ninten! When did you wake up?" Loid looked at Ninten in shock.

"W-Wha…?" Porky asked. After a second, he growled, "But it doesn't matter! I'm going to kill your sister, and there's _nothing that you can do._ "

Ninten handed Loid the machine before glaring over at Porky.

"Quick Up."

Ninten became a blur as he zipped up to Porky's mech and jumped onto the chamber that held his family.

"Shield!" Ninten created a barrier around them just as the arm was going to pierce through them. "I'm not going to let you hurt my family, Porky!"

"What makes you think that you can stop me?" Porky asked.

"This," Ness said.

Porky turned his mech to face Ness, but it was too late. Ness, along with Ana and Loid, heaved the time machine at Porky. At first, Porky looked confused.

Once the time machine made contact with Porky's mech, he looked horrified.

"We did it!" Ana exclaimed. "The machine is shutting down the mech. You're a genius, Loid!"

"Yeah, but Ninten somehow managed to save it from being blown apart!" Loid said, still shocked about that. "Well now all we have to do is break that glass Porky protects himself in."

Ninten walked back over to them, wondering if he should tell them that he remembered everything.

 _Nah, let's see if they can figure it out,_ Ninten thought to himself in amusement.

"No…" Porky wheezed. "...But even this doesn't matter. You can't kill me. You'll never be able to. Even under my mech, I'm invincible. Even on the inside, I'm more machine than human. You can't kill me, Ness. And you can't either, other people whose names I don't remember. You've beaten me, but I will _always_ come back to haunt you."

Ninten looked at his friends. The look on Ness' face sent a chill down his spine.

* * *

 _Pathetic,_ Ness thought, his lips forming a sneer. _This is what it comes to._

Ness ran up to Porky's broken mech, smashing the glass with his baseball bat. Each stroke created more cracks.

"I'm coming for you, Porky," Ness hissed. "You're not the person who I knew. I think that he died in that mech a long time ago. Tell me, Porky… if I reach inside of you, will I find a heart made of lead?"

"It doesn't matter what you do, Ness. I can't die. I am immortal. You can torture and beat me with your bat as much as you like, you can crack my skull and smash my brains, I would still be alive. But _you_ , you were gone a long time ago, Ness. You left me, all alone, in this boring world," Porky sneered. "Why shouldn't I just do what I want? It doesn't matter, my life is a timeloop anyway, a timeloop of eternity!"

Ness _smashed_ with all of his might, shattering the glass. He barely noticed the glass shards that sliced his skin.

"Ness!" Ana shouted. "What are you do-"

"You're lying," Ness said, pointing a finger at Porky. "And no, I'm not in denial just because I'm angry. _You_ are. I can see things about you that others can't, Porky. I scare you. I scare you and you don't want to admit it! Now, why would you be scared of me if you were truly safe, truly immortal? I think that you're lying to yourself because security is what you crave more than anything. You never felt safe in your house; you never felt safe with Giygas watching over you. So now, you _pretend_ like you're invincible because it's the only way to hush the anxiety inside of you!"

"And you think you know that much about me? I've lived far longer than any human being put together. I've existed for more than a millennium, what makes you think you of all people could scare me? You and Giygas were gone long ago, both of you meant _nothing_ to me!" Porky argued back, wheezing and coughing.

 _"_ _Hey, Ness!"_ Ana shouted telepathically. _"I'm reading Porky's mind. His thoughts are… weird, but I think that you're getting to him!"_

Ness nodded, hopping inside of the ruined mech and brandishing his baseball bat with both hands.

"You've lived so long as a human," Ness whispered. "And yet you're still the same. I was wrong about you, Porky. You _are_ still there, hidden under _this._ " Ness gestured towards everything around him. "That's what this has all been about, hasn't it? Your empire, your plans with me and Ninten, everything! It's not about boredom and it's not about greed. You're trying to put layers around yourself. Because you think that if you can lock yourself in a mech, get everyone to worship you, and break people who you knew as a child… you think that maybe then, you'll no longer be _you,_ the lonely child who was abused and neglected."

"..." Porky, for once, hesitated on his words. "It doesn't matter anymore, Ness. You may think I'm that puny little kid who's scared of his own parents, but I'm not. Nobody scares me anymore, and I'll make sure they can't do anything to me. Once my plan is complete, the world will be reborn in how I want it, a place where nobody will dislike me or treat me like some impudent child. The plan… the idea… I was given by someone. They promised it would make all my wish come true, and now here you are, taking it all away from me again, Ness. Are you happy now?"

 _"_ _His mind is going haywire!"_ Ana shouted. _"Keep going! You have him on the ropes!"_

"Happy?" Ness roared. " _Happy?_ I'm _angry,_ Porky. Angry that you couldn't be better." _That I couldn't be better. That I couldn't be there for you._ "But here's the thing. You crave that perfect world more than anything else, a world where you're free from danger. You want that so badly that you convinced yourself that it's true. Even if you've managed to fool yourself, your invincibility is a LIE!"

Porky gave a short winded chuckle, "Oh Ness, I never said _I_ was invincible, only when I'm in the mech. If I was truly invincible, I wouldn't be trying so hard to making this new world of mine. I can still feel pain, very much so. Being tortured alive is a fate worse than death, Ness, you have no idea. Immortality doesn't equal invincibility, and I'm sick of the hurt. I don't care anymore, whether you kill me here and now wouldn't matter in the long run. My little robot, remember him? He'll see to it that the mission is fulfilled, whether I am there or not."

 _Uh… no?_ Ness thought. _Did Porky forget how I managed to save Claus?_

"...I want _so badly_ to make you see the hurt that you've caused and care," Ness whispered. "But I guess I've been worrying too much about me. While I scared you, Ninten was the one who took you down." Ness flashed his look-alike a weary smile. "...Ninten, what do you want to do with Porky? He threatened to kill your family and you beat him. What now?"

Ninten looked at Ness, surprise written all over his face. "You're letting _me_ decide? Are you sure?"

"So my fate is in the hands of your look-alike, huh?" Porky gave a humorless chuckle. "I guess this is what they mean by an irony of cruel fate."

"You're the real victim of all this, Ninten," Ness said, ignoring Porky. "He nearly killed one of your sisters and caused a lot of pain to the people you love, all because of a silly mistake on his part. _And_ you were the one to beat him. It… should really be you in here right now. Unless you want me to choose for you."

"Heh, never thought I would have to make this kind of decision," Ninten said as he looked into the broken mech. "... I do have every right to want to kill this old man in front of me right now."

Everything was silent as Ninten paused for a moment, then he said, "He's become twisted, and he took the lives of many innocent people, messed with nature and time, and even kidnapped people from their own timeline just to brainwash them for his own benefit and amusement. If anything, this universe would be better off without him. But… from what I could see of him, he's more of a scared child, who did all this because they were scared of being hurt, so they hurt others before they could hurt them. People he shared a bond with were gone, he had nobody to turn to, so becoming like this was inevitable for him."

"So what's your point? You going to choose or keep giving this long winded speech?" Porky grumbled. "If you're going to kill me, just do it already."

"Before I do, I want to know something… This… didn't happen before, did it?" Ninten asked Porky. "I'm not an expert on time travel, but you said that your life was a timeloop, implying that maybe you did something like this before. What originally happened when _we_ weren't in Lucas's timeline? You obviously did something different."

"As if you could tell if anything different happened," Porky said. "You're just going by a hunch."

"Well, a psychic's hunch is never wrong, is it?" Ninten said with a bit of humor.

"Fine, if you want to know that much, then I'll tell you; I was…" Porky hesitated. "Locked up in the Absolute Safe Capsule. The world ended and was reborn, yadda yadda yadda, and all I could do was sit in the capsule, safe, sound, and complete isolation. The capsule was one of Dr. Andonuts' greatest creation, nothing can harm it, no PSI or any force in the universe could penetrate it. Nothing gets in… and nothing gets out."

"And… _why_ did you let Dr. Andonuts create that?" Ness asked.

"It wasn't supposed to work that way, it was supposed to let me out when I was ready," Porky said. "But it was only a prototype, it wasn't ready to be used. But I was desperate at the time. That boy, Lucas, and his friends as well as his flea bitten mutt, destroyed my mech and were on the verge of finishing me off for good. Unlike you, Ness, they had no history with me and wouldn't hesitate to kill me on the spot. So I brought in the Absolute Safe Capsule to survive. At least, I _think_ that all happened. Maybe none of that was real and I'm insane. It wouldn't surprise me."

"...Ninten," Ness said. "I think that we've spent enough time listening to Porky. What do you want to do with him?"

"Hold on, Ness, he still hadn't answered all of my questions," Ninten said. "If that all happened, then how did you get out? What changed?"

"Heck if I know, I just woke up one day back in my mech instead of that capsule and got some encouragement to use the Time Distorter to get an old friend back," Porky shrugged with a smile, a smile that said he knew more than he was letting on.

" _Who_ encouraged you?" Ninten asked.

"Heh, it doesn't matter, because I couldn't even see their face," Porky said. "Now are you going to kill me or do you want me to babble on some more?"

"Fine, I'll make my choice," Ninten sighed. "Porky… This is probably stupid of me, but I'm sparing you."

"Wait… WHAT?" Ana said.

Loid's jaw dropped to the ground.

 _...Guess I should have seen this coming,_ Ness thought.

"... You're _sparing_ me?" Porky was staring at Ninten as if he just spontaneously mutated into a chimera himself. "Why? You have no reason to spare me."

"I also have no reason to kill you," Ninten shrugged, giving a small smile. "You didn't kill anyone close to me, even if you came close. And it was because of you I even got to meet Ness and Lucas, and it reminded me why I fought so hard to protect those I cared about. And I want to believe that everyone deserves a second chance."

"... How cheesy, do you think I've learned anything from this? If you let me go, I'd just come back and kill everyone," Porky sneered.

"Maybe you will, but if anyone's going to kill you, it won't be me," Ninten said firmly.

"Why? How could you even think about letting me go? You saw what I've done, don't give me your pity!" Porky snapped.

"And you don't want pity or mercy?" Ninten asked.

"I just… don't understand why. Ness, you would kill me if you could, right?" Porky asked Ness.

"I probably would, if it were my choice," Ness admitted. "But… perhaps this is for the best. Ninten has more reason to hate you than anyone and he doesn't want to kill you. I think that we could both learn a lesson or two from him."

"But why? Why not just end me now while you have the chance?" Porky demanded. "Even after all I've done, you're still going to spare me?"

"I've already stated why, Porky," Ninten said.

"But why are you… being so… nice to me?" Porky looked away.

"Porky… what will you do now?" Ninten asked.

"To ask me such a thing after foolishly letting me go? You're not normal, are you?" Porky gave a grin as he touched the time machine that was on his mech. "You're going to regret this."

"What are you doing?" Ninten asked.

Porky pushed a button in the mech.

"SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED," A robotic voice said from the mech.

"When the walls of the world that you've created are torn down, I guess destruction is an appealing choice," Ness said, his voice dangerously quiet.

"Let's get out of here!" Ana said. "I'm reading his mind and he's dead serious about this. Let's _not_ get caught in the blast radius, all right?"

"I'm with Ana on this one!" Loid yelped. "There's no telling what will happen if that time machine explodes with that mech!"

Ana, Loid and Ness all began running away, but Ness stopped when he noticed Ninten wasn't with them. Turning around, Ness saw Ninten breaking the chamber his mother and sisters were in with his bat.

"Whoops," Ana whispered. "Can't believe that I forgot about them. PK Beam Gamma."

A ray of energy sprouted from Ana's hands, vaporizing the glass chamber while leaving Ninten's family unhurt.

"I would have done that earlier, but I was afraid that Porky would just kill them. Now let's get out of this building so that we can teleport!"

Ninten nodded as he took his mother while Ana and Ness picked up his little sisters. Frantically, Ness ran out of the building, breathing a sigh of relief after he saw Ninten exit right behind him.

"Loid, grab on to us, we're getting out of here!" Ninten yelled.

Loid took Ness's hand as all three PSI users teleported away. They appeared in Ninten's house, where Ninten placed his mother on the couch. "... Hey guys, I'm going back for Porky."

"He's dead," Ana said. "And if he isn't dead _yet_ , he might kill you in the explosion."

"...You can't stop him from ending his own life," Ness whispered, putting a hand over his heart. "I guess that was the only power that he had left, huh?"

"Ness, Porky won't die when the mech explodes. Why do you think he was touching the time machine earlier?" Ninten said. "He's planning a risky move; to go forward in time along with the explosion. Making it seem like he's going to kill himself. There's a chance he'll die before he goes into the timestream, but do you really want to take that chance?"

"You were the one who wanted to spare him," Ness pointed out. "If he wants to go forward, then what are we going to do to stop him? Kill him? You already said that you didn't want to do that."

Ninten sighed before he stood up and walked out of the door, "I can explain all I want to you, but I don't have the time. Guys, if I don't make it back… it was nice knowing you."

Before anyone could argue, Ninten ran through the road and teleported back to the zoo.


	24. Chapter 24: Dystopia

**DarkFoxKit:** Is it just me or is there… like almost no reviews this week?

 **Connor:** Just you, I think. ;) Two is plenty, especially for a lesser-known fanbase like Earthbound. I struggle to get that many for Ceres haha. So yeah, thanks to the people who review this story. It really means a lot to us! :D

 **DarkFoxKit:** I did say _almost_ no reviews. But alright, let's get to them.

 **Connor:** I did say that two was _plenty,_ as in far away from zero. ;) But yeah, let's go! :)

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** A 'mess' look alike, nice. XD And Ninten doesn't actually learn 4th D Slip Reverse in the games, it's something I added into the story to go along with the theory that it makes him travel in the future to avoid the enemies. I think the song beating Gigue is meant to be more sweet and heartbreaking, though it's a little hard to get that with low 8-bit graphics these days. You'll probably find out more about what happened with Porky later, or be more confused. ^^' And while I didn't like what Porky did, I never actually hated him, more like felt sorry for him really.

 **Connor:** It's ok, Fox and I don't blame you at all for that little "mess" typo. ;) I mean, we have typos in our work too, and we edit our stuff. ._. Never ceases to anger me when that happens haha. Thanks as always! We really appreciate how you review this story every week! :D

 **Orangeflight of ShadowClan:** **Connor:** Don't worry too much about reviewing. :) We get it if you're busy and we don't want to add stress to your life even if you're not. Just review when you feel like it, all right? Or maybe it would be less stressful if you made your reviews a little shorter? Not saying that I would prefer them that way (your long reviews are the greatest :D) but if it would help you out…

I guess there's been a bit of lull in reviews. It doesn't faze me that much, although I do hope that people will tell me if there's something wrong with this or Ceres. Yep, school school school. Well, Ness _did_ contemplate Porky kidnapping his family for a long time. It's clearly not beneath him. Yeah, I know what you mean about the orb. Little details like that in video games often foreshadow extra fights. My personal analysis on Porky in this story is that everything is his fault, but I don't blame him _too_ harshly for it. What he does is undeniably wrong, but I can refrain from hating him because of his circumstances. And Ninten wasn't really thinking logically during that point in time. xD It's a really common thing for protags that authors have to consider. Make them too calculating and they seem callous but make them too impulsive and they seem stupid. Since the protags are teenagers… well, they naturally trend towards the impulsive side, even someone more analytical like Ness. :) And I think that I'll hand the rest of this review response off to Fox.

 **DarkFoxKit:** Why thank you my good man. :3

Of course we wouldn't leave out Loid and Ana, it wouldn't feel right to have them excluded from this after all. And of course, Porky wasn't going to give them the chance to use the time machine against him. And like Connor said before, teenagers can get pretty impulsive, and by that point Ninten was willing to charge straight into the bull head-to-head. And hooray for Gigue being there so Ninten would recover the rest of his memories! By this point in time, this is after Ninten had defeated Gigue, so I'd imagine he's pretty strong with powerful PSI, and it shows once he finally remembers everything. Unlike Ness and Lucas, Ninten didn't naturally have any offensive PSI to start with, so he has to be more tricky with his own. And Claus's state is unknown right now, if someone like Fassad or a Pigmask picked him up now, he would definitely carry on Porky's wish. And Ninten, like me, don't harbor any actual hate for Porky. He didn't like what Porky's done and almost did to his family, but he felt more sorry for him than he felt hatred.

You know you don't _have_ to strain yourself for your reviews. ^^' But I guess it's your choice in the end. I'm also glad you didn't mind the peaceful break chapter, because I like writing those in my story too. And I can relate to being sensitive to criticism, I'm trying not to let it get to me though as I know they can help make me a better writer. If you do plan to restart Super Mystery Dungeon, be sure you already know which starter you plan to use for the story, because it took me a long time to play the game again because I couldn't decide. ^^'

Anyways, thank you for your review. It's always a pleasure to hear from you and our other fans too. :D

* * *

 _Why am I even doing this?_ Ninten thought. _I shouldn't even care about Porky. He's caused us nothing but trouble, an_ _d he even kidnapped me from my own timeline! Not to mention he erased my memories, and threatened to kill my family. And yet I just can't abandon him like this._

Ninten arrived at the zoo and saw the mech already hummed with electricity. He had no idea when it'll explode, but it could be any second now.

Ninten ran at Porky, who was just sitting there.

"Porky, I'm getting you out of here!" Ninten said to the old pig boy.

"...Heh," Porky wheezed. "Go ahead and do that. As you can see, I really am not capable of moving much of my body. It's been centuries since I've walked."

"I'm surprised you're not fighting back anyways," Ninten said as he pulled Porky's arm.

"Tele-!"

Then there was a loud booming sound before Ninten yelped as he was run over by another person and he found himself flat face down on the ground.

"Ninten!" he heard. "...I did it again, didn't I? Ah, screw it." Ninten felt someone grab onto his arm. "Teleport!"

But as they were getting a running start, the mech exploded, taking the time machine with it. Ninten and the person teleporting were caught up in the explosion, along with Porky. Ninten shut his eyes as he felt a burning sensation crawl all over his body.

 _Are we dead…?_

The next thing Ninten knew was that his body hit a hard surface and rolled around a bit before he stopped on his back. Gasping, Ninten opened his eyes and found himself in some kind of alleyway. It was dark, dank, and stinky in there. The grey skies above him certainly didn't motivate him to get up.

Coughing a bit, Ninten looked around to see Ness and Porky were lying close by, good it looks like they all made it in one piece.

"Ness? Porky? You two are still alive, right?" Ninten said as he shook Ness's body.

"No," Ness said flatly. "I'm dead. Lifeup Omega."

Ninten felt his wounds heal, although he still felt the pain. He looked over to see Porky was coated in the green light too, but he just lied there.

"What are we going to do about Porky?" Ninten asked Ness. "I don't think he can move."

"I'll stay with him," Ness said. "Unless you want to. Maybe you can do some recon. I sense a PSI-user not too far away…" Ness looked around. "Where are we?"

"I don't know; I don't recognize this place," Ninten said.

Porky gave a cough before he said, "N… Ness… Nin...ten…"

"H-hey! He just said my name!" Ninten looked at Porky in shock.

"I… I think… this is it for me…" Porky gave a weak chuckle. "Immortality… isn't all that… eternal… as I thought…"

"What do you mean?" Ninten asked.

"Look at me…" Ninten noticed bits and pieces of Porky's body were starting to disappear, as if he was turning to dust. "The explosion… along with the time machine's power… is erasing me."

"And we can't heal you to stop it?" Ness asked.

"I'm not injured, Ness… I'm being erased. Listen… Ninten… there's more… to your memories… than you remember…" Porky said weakly as his body slowly began turning to dust. "We… we have met… before… but not in the way… you believe… heh… maybe you can… you can…"

Porky didn't say anymore, he closed his eyes as the rest of his body disintegrated into dust. Nothing else remained.

"Whoa," Ness said. "Now I _really_ feel like I don't know what's going on. Um… sorry about running over you again."

"It's okay… but you seem to be getting into the habit of running me over when you teleport," Ninten said. He sighed as he looked at the dust that was once Porky. "I can't help but feel sorry for him… and yet… maybe it's better he ended up this way. A life that goes on forever eventually loses its meaning, right?"

"I wouldn't know," Ness said. "Man, the air here makes me want to puke. Let's teleport back to Podunk, all right? The explosion must have messed something up with my teleport earlier."

"Um…" Ninten hesitated. "Shouldn't we see where we are first? What if Podunk isn't there anymore?"

"Why wouldn't it be there?" Ness asked with a smirk. "The explosion wasn't _that_ big."

"Call it a hunch," Ninten said. "Let's at least look at where we are. I'm quite curious where we ended up after that explosion. After all I didn't get to where I am now without a sense of exploration in the unknown."

"How about we do that _after_ we go back and say that we're okay? Your family must be worried sick, Ninten."

Ninten looked at Ness, though he just had a strong feeling they won't be there when they get back. Ninten shook his head, why is he thinking so negatively?

"Alright, let's get back to Podunk and see how everyone's doing," Ninten said.

Ness nodded, grabbing Ninten's hand.

"Teleport," he said.

Nothing happened.

"...What?" Ness said. "Why didn't my teleport work? I know that I did it right…"

"Let me try," Ninten said. "Teleport!"

Again, nothing happened.

"... I was worried this would happen. Teleport would only work if the place exist; the fact that it's not working means… Podunk doesn't exist here," Ninten said grimly.

Ness' eyes widened.

"So, the explosion wiped out _everything?_ " he asked. His voice dropping to a whisper, "Everyone there is… dead?"

"No," Ninten said. "If that were the case, we'd still be in the zoo. We're not in any place I recognize, and I'm assuming the same for you. And if they were dead, we would be too. I think something else happened, Ness, we should look around and see where we are."

"Well, you not recognizing this place doesn't mean much since you have amnesia," Ness said. "But yeah, I don't recognize this place either. I'm not convinced that everyone is safe. That explosion would have taken out most regular people… although Porky survived the explosion itself. Hm… but how can a place just _not exist?_ "

"I have a theory of what happened to us," Ninten said, ignoring the amnesia bit. Now was not the time. "When the mech exploded, it took the time machine with it. How much do you want to bet it sent us through time when it exploded?"

"I guess it's possible," Ness said. "And since the time machine's gone, we'll never be able to go back if this _is_ a different time." Ness sighed. "Gah, I don't do well with ambiguity. I guess we should explore a bit, huh?"

"We should stay close together; the last thing we need is to get separated in a different timeline," Ninten said before they walked out of the alleyway.

Ninten's eyes widened when he saw they were in what looked like a city, but it was strangely empty, almost ghost-like. The buildings were torn, the vehicles were shredded, the roads were cracked… everything about this screams post-apocalypse. If there were zombies coming out, Ninten would… well it would just be another Monday to him really.

"...You know," Ness said. "This place kind of looks like New Pork City. Well, it looks like New Pork after a meteor hit or something. I really only saw the city from above while flying around with Claus, but I think that it didn't look quite like this." Ness frowned. "Anyways, I mentioned that I sensed a PSI-user, right? We should probably see what they're up to."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Ninten said with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. "But I guess we have no choice."

"Well, we have a choice," Ness said with a smile. "It's just that this one is the best."

"You know what I meant," Ninten grumbled.

Ness lead Ninten through the streets of the city. Surprisingly few people walked the streets, and most of them steered clear of Ness and Ninten. It appeared that anyone armed with so much as a baseball bat was dangerous enough to pose a threat to these people.

"Cheery place, huh?" Ness quipped sarcastically.

"If this is a cheery place then I would hate to see what a gloomy place would look like," Ninten shivered at the thought.

Ninten followed Ness to a tall tower that was surprisingly still standing. The building itself looked like it had seen better days, but it was the only building intact. Ninten stopped as they were getting closer into the building.

"Ness… that PSI aura you're sensing… isn't there something familiar about it?" Ninten asked.

"Yeah," Ness said. "But a lot of PSI auras are similar. There might be nothing to it…"

Right then, a cloaked figure leapt in front of them, holding a spiked cudgel in his hands.

"Stay away or…" the cloaked man trailed off. "...No way."

 _"_ _That's the PSI-user,"_ Ness said telepathically. _"In case you can't tell."_

Ninten frowned as he recognized who this was with his telepathy. "... Lucas?"

"Wait, WHAT?" Ness asked.

The figure pulled back his hood, revealing Lucas' face. He bore numerous scars on his cheeks, and his normally shy posture was replaced by an aggressively territorial one. He looked at Ness and Ninten suspiciously, still holding up his cudgel.

"Where did you two go with that fancy time machine of yours?" Lucas demanded. "Wait. I don't care. Why are you two tracking me?"

"We accidentally ended up here after some events with that time machine, and you were the closest PSI user we sensed and decided to follow it since we didn't know what else to do," Ninten answered.

"...I guess that explains why you two looked like you haven't aged a day, huh?" Lucas said. "But again, I don't really care. You found me. Congrats. Now would you two mind turning around and walking the other way?"

Ninten didn't like how Lucas was acting. Before the boy was a little jaded, but he was still welcoming to new people who didn't mean any harm. Now Lucas didn't want _anyone_ near him, not even old friends.

"Lucas, what happened here?" Ninten asked. "Could you at least tell us that?"

"I don't really trust you," Lucas said with a sneer. "And staying on the streets for long periods of time really isn't a good idea."

"Why not?" Ninten asked for both of what Lucas said. If he didn't know this was Lucas already, he'd say it was someone else who just looked similar to Lucas.

"You could be robots, hallucinations, chimeras… you know, Normal Fassad creations," Lucas said. "And even if you aren't… you still abandoned us. I guess my dad was right, Ninten. I really _shouldn't_ trust random strangers with amnesia."

Ninten looked down, feeling hurt by that comment.

"That's not really fair," Ness said, his voice icy. "We didn't activate the machine on purpose. We _wanted_ to be there for you."

"You still failed," Lucas said, pointing his cudgel at Ness. "I trusted you to be there and you weren't. You may have meant well, but you were ineffective. That's why I shouldn't have trusted either of you. You couldn't pull your own weight."

Before Ness could retort, Ninten spoke up first, "You're right, Lucas, we did leave you when we said we'd be there for you. You have every right not to trust us anymore, because we broke our promise. If you really want us to leave, then we will leave and try to figure out what's going on while we fend for ourselves."

"Please do," Lucas said, his voice devoid of any concern. "Good day, Ninten and Ness. I hope that it doesn't offend you when I say that it's taking all of my willpower not to attack you right now. If you can go back in time or whatever… do it. You don't want to stay here."

"Why don't you just tell us what happened to you?" Ness asked. "We'll leave you alone after that."

"Ness!" Ninten hissed to his look alike.

Lucas' muscles tensed. He gritted his teeth as sparks started flying from his body, landing inches from Ninten and Ness.

"Can't… control my PSI," Lucas hissed. "Porky… dead. Fassad… dead. Claus… heartless." Lucas took a deep breath, tears glistening in his eyes. "Utter chaos. Now go! I don't want to ever see either of you ever again!"

Ninten detected another PSI user appear nearby.

"Great…" Lucas muttered, more sparks flying from his body. "Here _he_ comes."

Right after Lucas finished talking, Ninten spotted another person running towards them, carrying a beam sword.

"Claus!" Ness exclaimed.

"Claus… dead for a second time," Lucas hissed. "That is the masked man. And oh does he enjoy hearing people scream."

The Masked Man looked at Ninten and Ness, as if studying them for a minute, before he removed his helmet, revealing his face. It didn't look like he aged a day, strangely enough. Do chimeras age slower than humans? But he did have a big scar on his left eye.

"Ninten, Ness, so it was you two I've been sensing," Claus said. "Where have you two been? It's been so long since we last saw you. It's been, what, three, maybe four years now?"

"Two years," Lucas said, still spraying sparks, "Although it feels like so much longer, dear _brother._ I saw your little piece of _art_ that you made yesterday. Tell me, did you have to take the eyeballs out? It makes the corpses look so weird."

Ninten felt both shocked and sick to hear that.

"Lucas, please, I didn't care for the eyeballs. I was just curious what the human eye look like with an empty socket. And did it really matter? He was already dead," Claus said with a smile on his face… a deranged looking one. "But is that any way to greet our old friends? With such hostility, you make them think you're some kind of wild animal."

"PK Love," Lucas whispered.

Instead of the blue hexagons that normally came from Lucas' mind when he used the ability, shapes of all sorts appeared in the air, every single one looking bent and cracked. Instead of flying at Claus in an orderly fashion, the shapes went off in random directions, hitting Claus, Ness, and Ninten. The next second, Ninten found himself on the ground, his vision blinded by pain.

Ninten tried to work through the pain so he could concentrate enough to use Lifeup on himself. He hoped Ness was doing okay, but he could hear Claus laughing. It didn't sound like a child laughing, it sounded like some evil maniac laughing about someone getting run over.

"Lucas, Lucas, Lucas. My have your PSI grown wild over the years. No wonder dad didn't survive the process," Claus said. "I was wrong before; you really _are_ a wild animal now."

In that moment, Lucas looked like a terrified child. He held his hands up to his chest as if to physically protect himself from Claus' words, leaving the cudgel in a position to protect nothing but his left shoulder. His icy eyes melted into two lakes of insecurity.

"Stay… away from me," Lucas whispered. "Stay… back."

"And you know what people do to wild animals that invade their homes or territory?" Claus said as he began to advance towards Lucas. "They _kill_ them. Whether it's by shooting, poison, maul, even trap them until they bleed out or starve to death. It's a wonder why humans can be so cruel to the wild life, right Lucas? But then, you'd know that better than anyone, wouldn't you?"

Lucas took a step back.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed. "I'll… rip your little limbs apart. I'll scoop your eyeballs out just like you did to that poor man yesterday…" His voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't do this to me, Claus."

"Heh…" Claus lifted up his hand. "Paralysis."

Lucas's body froze. He trembled and struggled, but he couldn't move more than an inch. Claus came up to his brother's face and lifted his chin to his eyes before he let go.

"Oh, is that what you plan on doing? Dear brother of mine, you've become strong and hard since you left. I mean look at you; you've caused the death of several of my soldiers of New Pork City, a lot more than anyone else. But… even you got depressing after a while, you know? I mean you have such a bleak outlook, it has a way of bringing me down. You know, for someone who claimed to have given up on this world, you sure do like causing trouble for the people living in it. You _idiot_ , you've lost all your will and purpose, you've claimed to not want to be like dad was, and yet here you are acting just like he did now, if not worse." Claus's smile widened. "You've watched this world die before you, and all you could do is become a part of the killing. Kill, kill and kill some more, until you can't feel your own sins, your own regret. It's just lovely, isn't it, dear brother?"

Ninten felt paralyzed himself by Claus' words.

"...Goodbye," Lucas managed to say through clenched teeth.

His face twisted in pain as he moved his arms an inch. Then another inch. It seemed like Claus' paralysis still held him steady.

Then Lucas brought his cudgel down on Claus.

Claus easily parried the blow but betrayed surprise.

"Teleport," Lucas whispered, turning around and dashing at an almost incomprehensible speed, disappearing from sight.

Ninten and Ness were now left with this sadistic Claus. Ninten looked over at Ness, there was no way either of them wanted to stay and deal with him like this.

 _"_ _Ness, we have to make a run for it!"_ Ninten mentally shouted to Ness.

 _"_ _...Why shouldn't we kill him right here?"_ came the response. _"Do you think that we're outmatched?"_

Before Ninten could answer that, Ness's body suddenly tightened. Claus was moving towards him, and Ness couldn't move; he had been paralyzed like Lucas was.

 _"_ _What?"_ Ness asked. _"The charm that I'm wearing is supposed to stop me from things like this… Dang, his PSI is powerful."_

"Now… what are you two doing here?" Claus asked. "Did you come back just to see how things were doing? And here we thought you both went back to your own timelines because your purpose in ours was over."

"I don't get it… what happened to you, Claus?" Ninten asked. "I thought Ness helped you… I mean… didn't he help you see who you really were?"

"Ness here got me to see I was indeed human, yes," Claus said. "That didn't mean anything to me, however. I was made and raised as a killing robot for Porky, and that's how I should remain. Of course, my crybaby of a brother kept bothering me about that, so I left to go find Porky again. But when I came back, Porky was gone. Fassad was gone too. Without anyone to follow, what should I do? I've wondered about this for a long time, until finally I just decided to just kill someone. It was thrilling, the blood that spilled was a crimson beauty, the beating heart that slowly stopped, and the warmth of the body began to leave a cold corpse. I wanted more of it."

Tears started coming to Ness' paralyzed eyes.

 _"_ _Claus…"_ Ninten heard telepathically. _"Why? WHY?"_

"Why, you ask?" Claus gave another deranged smile at Ness. "Why not? I have begun to learn that humans have a dark side, _all of them_. Who knows, maybe we were all meant to turn out this way in the end. Now it's just kill or be killed, lawless, and that's just the way I like it."

 _"_ _Ninten,"_ Ness said. _"Please, teleport us out of here before he paralyzes you too. In this state, I don't have the will to break out like Lucas did…"_

"Oh, but I've grown bored of this world. Every day, it's just the same old thing now; people hide like cowards. And those who fight back dies so quickly that it's hardly entertaining. Then there's my brother, he's the only one who could give me a decent challenge, but he's harder to find than even the stealthiest of thieves. But, now I see something new has happened; the two of you," Claus said.

Ninten gulped, knowing he had to teleport out with Ness, but if he made any sudden movements then Claus would paralyze him too. He had to be smart about this. While Claus was going on his monologue, he slowly and stiffly moved towards Ness.

 _"_ _Keep him distracted, Ness,"_ Ninten mentally said.

"I could kill you both now and be done with it, but that's so _boring_. I want to have a little fun before the killing," Claus said.

 _"_ _I… didn't teach you anything,"_ Ness said to Claus telepathically. _"You're even worse than before. Can't you see that? Please, wake up! Please…"_

Claus looked at Ness for a few seconds before he laughed again, "Did you really think begging me would 'snap me out of it'? And you've taught me how dangerous emotions were. And since you took Dr. Andonuts away, the best thing I could do to rid myself of such annoyance was to keep killing until I was too drowned in blood to feel anything anymore."

 _"_ _So that's what happened. Claus feared human emotions, that's got to be the catalyst to this,"_ Ninten said as he took Ness's hand. "Tele-"

Ninten stopped when Claus's blade was right at his neck.

"Now, now, Ninten, let's not be so hasty. I wanted to have a little more fun with you two before you start running away like my brother," Claus said.

 _"_ _Claus, please…"_ Ness begged.

Ninten looked at Claus and said, "Don't you think it'll be more of a fun game if you let us run? It'll be more of a challenge to try and catch us than to trap us so easily, right?"

Claus paused and seemed to be considering this, "Hmm… I've hadn't had a real challenge in a long time."

"Then give us a head start, it'll be more fun that way," Ninten said.

"And I will, but…" Claus looked into both of their eyes. "I rather you didn't teleport. It's a pain in the butt to have to go look for people that can teleport anywhere, so just to ensure that you don't… Disable."

Ninten yelped a bit when he felt something tingled in his mind. Ness's frozen body twitched a bit.

"W-what did you just do?" Ninten demanded.

Claus gave a big, toothy grin and said, "I've made it so you can't use teleport. I won't say if it's temporary or permanent; it's more fun to watch you squirm trying to figure out if you can ever use that ability ever again." He snapped his finger and Ness's body was released from the paralysis. "I'll give you two ten seconds to run, don't waste it."

 _"_ _Can we still use other PSI?"_ Ness asked Ninten telepathically. _"...I guess so, huh?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, but what good will that do!?"_ Ninten frantically asked back.

"The clock is ticking," Claus said.

"PK Flash Omega!" Ness shouted.

Ninten's vision flashed in the face of such intense light. The next thing he knew, Ness was holding his hand and pulling him somewhere.

 _"_ _Hopefully, that will throw him off of our trail… although he can still tell where we generally are with his PSI senses,"_ Ness said telepathically. _"Got any ideas for how to escape?"_

 _"_ _Sorry about panicking back there, Ness. Claus is just… so unnerving…"_ Ninten shook his head. _"Well… we could try going back in time to make sure this never happened…"_

 _"_ _The time machine went boom, genius,"_ Ness said.

 _"_ _I know that, smarty pants, but I mean… there's another way to travel through time than with a machine. There's... PSI for that…"_ Ninten said that last part slowly.

 _"_ _Try it,"_ Ness said. _"Try anything!"_

 _"_ _Okay, okay, I'll try, but uh… there's a slight chance you might wind up with… a mutated body if I don't do this right…"_ Ninten nervously said.

"You idiot, did you really think PK Flash would work on me? Lucas uses that all the time! Why do you think I got a scar on my eye?" Claus pointed at his left eye. "But looks like I win."

"Paralysis alpha!" Ness shouted frantically. "Hypnosis alpha!"

Claus reached out to grab Ness's arm, unaffected by Ness' PSI.

Ninten gasped and shut his eyes in concentration. _I hope this works!_

"4th Dimension Slip Reverse-Gamma!" Ninten shouted.

Everything around him became extremely blurry, unlike when he had used the short and less powerful alpha version of 4th-D Slip Reverse, it wasn't just a quick melt and click, it was very disorientating and it took a lot of PSI. Ninten felt himself going in and out of consciousness as he struggled to stay awake so the PSI can do its thing and they get back to the safer timeline. A timeline where Lucas and Claus were together again thanks to them, where Lucas wasn't so paranoid and jaded, where Claus was still innocent enough to want to be human again.

Ninten's grip tighten around the other's hand, making sure he didn't drop him as they were going through the time stream.

 _Just hold on… hold on… a little… longer… almost… th...e...r...e…._

The last thing Ninten saw was a green, lush forest before everything went black.


	25. Chapter 25: Reconstruction

**DarkFoxKit:** It felt like it's been a while since the last update… oh wait, that's for my other story isn't it? I apologize for the slow down lately. ^^' But hey, at least this one is still getting updated weekly.

 **Connor:** Yeah, we all try our hardest to stick to schedule… But as some of you know from Ceres, that doesn't always happen. Fire Emblem Fates is amazing, by the way. If I miss any more updates, you can blame that game. ;)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Wow, I've been hearing a lot of talk about that game lately. ^^' Anyways, let's get to the reviews now.

* * *

 **Guest/Shimo no ko:** Nope, it isn't. Heck I don't think it has anything to do with time travel in-game, it's just a theory I made for this story. And I don't blame you for not being able to beat it yet, especially since your Wii U charger is lost, it's a really tough game to beat, especially the final level. I've noticed in all the Mother/EarthBound series, the end boss gets defeated by a special way rather than just trying to beat it by damaging it through normal means. This chapter was pretty dark I'll admit, but I had some sadistic fun with it. And you'll see in this chapter if what Ninten did worked.

 **Connor:** Psst! I never beat EB Beginnings either. :D After a certain point, it just got too monotonous to be fun to me. *gets pelted*

 **Paula-Ana:** **Connor:** Yeah, it's usually pretty easy to tell in most books/fics when something really bad is about to happen, huh? Yes, yes, we authors love putting our characters through insane amounts of stress, violence, and pretty much any negative quality a situation can have. Sometimes I think that all authors are sadistic or something (but they're not… because characters overcoming those challenges is the point of most of those books). Well, Ness and Ninten might need that luck to change the future… as with all stories, they're fighting a pretty uphill battle. Thanks for reviewing and see you next week! :D

 **DarkFoxKit:** Also, that name, Paula-Ana, in my head it almost sounded like Pollyana. ^^'

 **Ninten64** **:** … You know, you make a good point there. That would've been both an amazing way to end it, yet a dickish way to end it.

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** Yup, and I like the dark. :P Connor's stories tend to get dark, and I don't mind using dark elements in a story either, in fact I kinda relish in some of them. ^^' Have fun with the crazy train. :3

 **crabbyTomato: ****Connor:** Yes, I've learned from the first Ceres that I need to make sure that each page that I write needs to be meaningful, and making a plot that doesn't drag on forever is one of the easiest ways to do that. :) So yeah, a lot of stuff happened and those two chapters probably stick in my memory the most out of any of them. Yep, dark all around. Gotta make sure that the protags _really_ want to change the future, just like in Chrono Trigger. Both Lucas and Claus are scary people (in the dystopian future, anyway). I wouldn't want either one of them within ten miles of me. D: And yeah, Earthbound does do that quite a bit, huh? Except that our story lingers on the darkness for a little bit longer than EB does, so a little more like M3. At least… that was the goal. Some characters in this chapter are still pretty lighthearted. See you later! :)

* * *

Claus wasn't sure what to do since Ness and Ninten disappeared. He had grown used to having Ness around, and Ness was really the only person who cared about him. He wasn't not sure what to make of Lucas or Flint, he just knows they were related to the body or boy he once was. Even though Ness and Ninten only departed a few hours ago, Claus already started to miss them.

He wanted to be alone for a while, and decided to go into the forest for some peace and quiet, and that was when he found two familiar and identical boys lying unconscious together.

"Wow," came a voice behind him. "How did they get there? I was kind of out out it when they disappeared, but I was under the impression that they _disappeared._ "

Claus turned around to see Kumatora looking at Ness and Ninten with a frown on her face. She claimed that she felt perfectly normal after Dr. Andonuts attempted to revert the brainwashing (she claimed that they pigmasks did a rushed job, which _did_ seem plausible), but he still didn't trust her completely.

"Have you been following me?" Claus asked.

"Not everything is about you, kiddo," Kumatora shot back with a grin. "I was just out here thinking… which is kind of rare for me, I'll admit. I guess being brainwashed made me start back at square one. I don't really trust anything that I see anymore. I'm scared of finding something to care about because I know that it could be used against me. In a way, we're not so different, Clausy."

Claus stared at her with a blank expression. He had gotten used to the name 'Claus' because everyone kept calling him that since they got back to Tazmily, but he still didn't see himself as the Claus they kept talking about.

"... What should I do with these two?" Claus asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" Kumatora said. "We _do_ have a geezer who knows more about people, especially unconscious ones, than we do. Hm… Do you think that they would mind if I dragged them? Carrying someone is a lot of work, and I'm feeling extra lazy today."

Claus frowned at her before he said, "Dragging them like that would be ill advised. They look like they've been through a war zone. If you can't carry them, then I would suggest you get someone who can."

"Kidding, kidding," Kumatora said. Her voice dropping to a whisper, "Mostly."

Claus looked over at them and walked to Ness, picking up his body while Kumatora picked up Ninten.

"Don't hurt him," Claus said.

"I was planning to, but you just convinced me with that brilliant precautionary statement," Kumatora said sarcastically. "Why would I hurt him? Ninten's a nice guy. He even helped me make fun of Lucas. We're practically besties."

"..." Claus stared blankly at her while they left the forest.

The two soon arrived at Tazmily Village. They passed through and made their way to the outskirts.

"Do you remember what it was like being brainwashed?" Claus asked Kumatora as they walked up to the house.

"Sort of," Kumatora answered. "It felt like I was in some sort of trance. I wasn't really thinking right, and I can only catch bits and pieces of memories. Never a full event. It did feel more real than a dream though. More… consistent."

"I see…" Claus paused. "You and Duster remembered your lives when Dr. Andonuts fixed your brains. It was… unexpected."

"Don't you have some memories of who you were before the wires, knives, and white tables in the pigmask labs?" Kumatora asked.

"... Perhaps, but they're only bits and pieces. I still don't feel like the boy they call Claus," The chimera boy answered before opening the door, half hoping the house was empty.

Inside stood Lucas and Dr. Andonuts. Upon seeing Ness and Ninten, Lucas' jaw dropped.

"Wha-How?" He asked. "they disappeared just a couple hours ago. How did they manage to come back?"

"It is unknown," Claus said. "They were just lying in the middle of the forest. Beartiger lady told us to take them here where a 'geezer' could take care of them."

" _Geezer_!? How old do you think I am? I only have a 13 year old son!" Dr. Andonuts snapped.

"How old _are_ you?" Kumatora asked, a smile dancing on her lips.

"... That's not important right now. Those two boys look like they've been through a lot. Why don't you set them down on the bed?" Dr. Andonuts said.

"Sure thing," Kumatora said, plopping Ninten down on the bed. "But it _is_ weird, isn't it? I wonder how they got here."

"Yeah…" Lucas said, looking at Ninten. "I hope that they'll be okay."

Claus put Ness down next to Ninten before he said, "I'm sure they will reveal their tale to us and tell us what happened. Where's Flint?"

"He's off talking with Duster somewhere," Lucas said. "They go a ways back." Lucas' voice dropped to a whisper. "And you can call him dad."

"But 'Dad' is not his name, is it? Did you give him that nickname?" Claus asked.

Dr. Andonuts sweatdropped. "Well, this is new."

"I feel like he's messing with us," Kumatora said. "He understands humans, right? I mean, he has to know about parents."

"He does," Dr. Andonuts said. "I just never seen him messing with people like this before."

"I do not mess with people. If I did, you'd all have to take a bath every time I see you," Claus said in a serious tone.

"...He _can't_ be serious," Kumatora muttered. "I bet this is all one big joke and he's getting the last laugh."

"Not everyone's ultimate goal in life is to make fun of people," Lucas said, biting back a poorly concealed smile.

Kumatora shot him a flat look.

"Is this payback for me calling you my knight in shining armor?" she asked.

"Maaaaybe," Lucas said, stretching out the word.

"You're her knight in shining armor?" Claus asked Lucas before studying him. "... I don't see any armor on you."

"I'm telling you!" Kumatora shouted. "He's playing us all for fools!"

"Have fun in your deluded little world," Lucas said. "How do they look, doc?"

"They're recovering pretty quickly, Ninten exhausted his mentality. Perhaps PSI overuse?" Dr. Andonuts said.

Claus looked over at Ness before he said, "Ness's heart rate is starting to speed up. He's waking up."

Right then, Ness groaned. He slowly sat up in his bed, blinking a few times. Upon seeing Claus, he let out a yelp.

"You followed me…" Ness looked around the room. His cheeks turned red. "Uh, hey everyone. How are y'all doing?"

Claus was confused to Ness's yelp when he saw him. Ness had no reason to be scared of him, right?

"Ness, what had happened to you and Ninten? You both just disappeared with the machine and reappeared in the forest," Claus said.

"Uh…" Ness said, raising a finger. "That depends on how much you're willing to believe."

"We live in a world where the dead can be brought back to life by use of technology. Animals are literally crossed with other species or things. Humans have psychic powers and can speak to animals. I have an old master that can live forever. There isn't much that would surprise me in this world," Claus said.

"Slight correction," Ness said. "You _had_ an old master who _could've_ live forever. He happens to be dead now. Actually, he's dead in the future. It's weird. Basically, we went back to Ninten's time, did some stuff there… And now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that he recovered some of his memories. Anyways, we ended up in the future by accident, and now we're back here."

"...I like the level of detail in that description," Kumatora said.

"You're looking rather not brainwashed yourself," Ness said. "Congrats."

"Did you really bash my skull over and over again with a baseball bat?" Kumatora asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, thanks. It turned out that I needed some sense knocked into me."

"Well, that's what friends are for, right?" Ness asked. "Even though we're not really friends. That's what random strangers are for, right?"

"Wait, wait, wait, what do you mean you went into Ninten's time?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "Ninten isn't from this timeline?"

"Ness, perhaps you should start from the beginning. What happened after you and Ninten disappeared?" Claus asked patiently.

"There's not much more to it," Ness said, shying away slightly. "Ninten and I awoke some time in either the past or the future. We met some people who he knew, including his girlfriend and parents…"

"He has a girlfriend?" Lucas asked.

"Apparently," Ness said. "I suppose that we need to make fun of him for that, since I don't think that any of us are in romantic relationships. So yeah, Porky tried to kill us, we survived, and then we accidentally travelled to the future where Porky just kind of died. I'm still not sure how that happened. It's been a busy day."

"Master Porky… died?" Claus asked. "But how?"

Ness shrugged. Claus knew that Master Porky was immortal. Was Ness lying? … No, there was no sense of dishonesty.

"What about Ninten?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "Why is he still out cold? What did he do and how did you two even make it back here if you did end up in the future?"

"He used some sort of PSI to bring us back," Ness said. "That's why the time machine isn't with us. By the way, that weird device was a time machine."

"Yeah, Claus told us," Lucas said.

"Well you two seem to be fine, other than the exhaustion. Ninten will be back on his feet after a few hours of rest," Claus said. "Will you be needing anything, Ness?"

"What?" Ness asked, blinking rapidly. "Er… nope! I mean…" Ness sighed. "I guess all of this is a little hard to process. I think that I just need some time to work things out."

"Then take as much time as you need," Claus said. "I would like… some alone time too."

Ness looked at Claus carefully.

"...Okay," Ness said. "But remember that I'll always be there for you, all right? If you want to talk to me about anything, I'm free."

"I'll… be sure to take you up on your offer, Ness," Claus said. "And… be sure to give this Ninten when he wakes up. He left it behind when you both went time traveling."

Claus threw a red hat over to Ness.

"Thanks," Ness said, catching it. "I also have something to give you as well. It's technically Ninten's, but he probably won't notice that I borrowed it."

Ness tossed a small object over to Claus. It looked like a small badge with a lightning bolt symbol drawn on.

"It's a Franklin Badge," Ness said. "It will protect you from electricity attacks. Just make sure to wear it close to your heart."

Claus looked at the Franklin Badge, it was pretty small but made with strange materials. Can this tiny thing really protect one from electricity? Although Claus himself used electrical PSI more than any other elements, he is ironically vulnerable to that very same element due to his half mechanical state.

"Are you sure you should give this to me? Logically it would be best to let Ninten keep it or give it to someone else. Kumatora could use PK Thunder, but I myself specialize in that element," Claus said. "I'm not saying I'd use it on anyone without reason, but maybe you shouldn't trust me with it."

"Why wouldn't I trust you with it?" Ness said. "And I don't think that Ninten will mind. If he does, I'll apologize later."

Claus didn't understand why Ness would give it to him of all people, but then again he never really understood humans and their weird way of thinking, must be an emotional thing.

"Then I thank you for it," Claus said.

"You're welcome!" Ness said. "Try to have fun during your alone time, all right?"

Claus didn't know how one could 'have fun' in their alone time, as he just use it for thinking without distraction. The boy just decided to leave the house, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Ness couldn't see Lucas and Claus in the same way. He sighed inwardly when Claus left, trying to push the sadistic smile of the masked man out of his mind. He looked at Lucas, but he kept seeing sparks flying from the blonde's small body. He imagined Lucas' eyes flashing with sheer terror and had to convince himself that it wasn't real. Even seeing Kumatora reminded him of unpleasant thoughts.

In short, Ness was suffocating in his memories. But he couldn't let it show. Not while Claus still needed him.

"How's Ninten doing?" Lucas asked, fiddling with his hands. "He'll be alright, won't he?"

As if on cue, Ninten himself began to stir in the bed.

"Ah, he lives!" Dr. Andonuts announced.

"It's alive!" Ness shouted, mimicking the older Frankenstein movies.

Ninten groggily blinked open his eyes and tried to sit up from the bed, but groaned as he rubbed the temples of his head.

"Ow… It feels like… ten trucks hit my head…" Ninten groaned.

"Well, only eight of them _actually_ hit your head," Ness joked. "The other two veered off into a ditch. You got lucky."

"Ninten!" Lucas exclaimed, walking up to the bed. "I'm so glad that you're okay!"

"Aw great," Kumatora said. "Are we going to have one of these really sappy moments?"

Ninten flinched from the loud voice before he looked up at Lucas. Then Ninten did what Ness pretty much did when he awoke to Claus earlier; he yelped and jumped back a bit.

The room silenced. Ninten smiled nervously.

"... Uh… Hi Lucas! Long time no see…?" Ninten said sheepishly.

"Ninten?" Lucas asked softly. "...Is everything okay?"

"Meaning," Kumatora said. "What's wrong with both of you? I thought that Ness was just a little slow on the uptake, but you both had the exact same reaction. What gives?"

 _...I feel so flattered,_ Ness thought.

"Huh? Kumatora, you're not brainwashed anymore!" Ninten gave a forced smile. "That's great! I thought we lost you and Duster back there!" It was pretty clear he was trying to steer away from the subject.

 _"_ _You're really bad at this, aren't you?"_ Ness asked telepathically.

 _"_ _Oh shut up, Ness. I was put on the spot, okay?"_ Ninten grumbled.

Ness forced himself not to laugh.

Ninten cleared his throat before he said, "So uh… anyways… I take it Ness told you what happened to us?"

"More or less," Kumatora said. "Actually, scratch that. He told us none of the 'more' and all of the 'less.' It seemed like he didn't even know what was happening to him the entire time."

Ninten looked at Ness. "Apparently you're not so good with storytelling."

"In my defense," Ness said. "I really didn't know what was happening to me the entire time."

Kumatora snorted; Lucas offered a shy smile.

"I don't really care," Lucas said. "I'm just glad that you're safe. Ness _did_ tell me that you recovered some of your memories, though. I'm so happy for you!"

 _After seeing him from the future…_ Ness thought. _It's hard to believe that someone so sweet could turn into that._

" _Some_ of my memories?" Ninten blinked before a look of realization hit him. "Oh, right… I never told Ness…"

"Never told me what?" Ness asked.

Ninten just gave Ness a smile, "Oh, nothing. Anyways, Lucas… where's uh… Claus?"

Ninten gave a slight shiver, most likely remembering the sadistic Claus they just got away from.

"Seriously," Kumatora said. "What's wrong with you two? Do we all have the flu or something?"

"Nothing's wrong, we just… saw some… _things_ in the future…" Ninten hesitated. "Um… how are you and Claus getting along anyways, Lucas? Does Claus leave often? He hadn't tried to kill anyo-THING has he?"

 _"_ _Subtlety factor drops to zero, huh?"_ Ness asked telepathically.

Instead of a telepathic reply, Ness just felt a headache. Did Ninten just slap his mind with PSI?

 _"_ _Rude,"_ Ness said, assuming that was the case.

"He's a little confused, but I think that he's okay," Lucas said. "Why? Is something bothering you?"

Ninten just gave a sheepish grin before taking a deep breath, most likely trying to calm down. "I just… want to make sure he's… you know, not… reverting back to being a robot is all. So uh, Lucas, do you have any plans?"

"Well, finding some way to get you two back here was kind of the plan," Lucas said. "But since you're here… I don't know. I mean, what can we really do? Ness said that Porky's dead, but I still think that Fassad and his army of pigmasks will be too much for us to handle. What do we do when they find us?"

 _Oh yeah,_ Ness thought. _Pigmasks. I totally forgot about them._

 _"_ _Ness, didn't future Claus say that Fassad was gone too? He never said what happened to him,"_ Ninten telepathically said. _"Maybe Lucas had something to do with it?"_

 _"_ _Maybe,"_ Ness said. _"Do you want to ask this Lucas about that, or…?"_

 _"_ _I don't know if I should… what if he doesn't believe me? And if he does, it might make him bitter…"_

 _"_ _That's where this thing called 'subtlety' comes in,"_ Ness said. _"I distinctly recall that it's something that you need to work on anyway."_

 _"_ _And are you going to try to talk to Claus about this?"_ Ninten grumbled.

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Why not?"_

"I wouldn't worry too much about Fassad or the Pigmasks. Without their master, it probably won't be long before they fall apart and disband," Ninten said to Lucas.

"I hope so," Lucas said. "Maybe then we can go back to living normal lives…" he sighed, shaking his head sadly. "I suppose that's too much to hope for, isn't it? I don't think that life will ever be the same again."

"Maybe not," Ness said. "So what's your plan? If the world around you starts to disintegrate, you can't really control it. You can only control how you adapt."

"I don't know," Lucas whispered. "I've been so busy thinking about the pigmasks that I'm not sure what will happen afterwards."

 _I just hope that we can change the future,_ Ness thought, _So that what I think will happen afterwards doesn't become reality for Lucas and Claus._

"What about your brother, Lucas?" Ninten asked. "It doesn't seem like he's… you know, the brother you once knew. What're you going to do about him?"

"I don't know about that, either," Lucas said. "I don't know what I _can_ do about that."

"Well… Claus is still your brother, no matter how much of himself he's buried," Ninten said. "If you truly want him back… well, only you can help him remember who he once was, Lucas. Ness can't really help him there since he didn't know him before."

"...Okay," Lucas said. "I'll try. I really shouldn't trust something like that to Ness, anyways."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Ness asked.

"It means that I saw you attack all of us with PK Rockin, try to beat Kumatora's brains out, and nearly knock out Ninten," Lucas said. "And I understand that you had good reasons for doing all of those, but it still makes me a bit skeptical. What would you do if you thought that there was something wrong with Claus that couldn't be fixed? I don't think that you'd hesitate to turn your PSI against him!"

 _...Fair enough,_ Ness thought, pursing his lips.

Ninten sighed and said, "Well I guess while we're here, we might as well enjoy some peace. I'd like to see if Duster is really okay too myself and- …" Ninten was looking at Ness, or rather what he was holding. "... Ness, when did you get a spare hat?"

"Oh, this?" Ness asked. "It's yours. Here, take it."

Ness gave Ninten the hat. The scarf wearing boy looked at it and smiled, "Wow, it's in good condition!"

When Ninten put on the hat, he was beaming. "I felt almost naked without my hat! It's good to have it back."

"It's just a hat, Ninten," Lucas said with a quiet smile.

 _Huh,_ Ness said. _He feels super uncomfortable around me but Ninten seems to cheer him up. I wonder what Lucas likes so much about Ninten._

"JUST a hat? It's not _just_ a hat, Lucas! It's a very special family heirloom!" Ninten said all dramatic-like. "... Nah, I'm just kidding about that, but it's something I've had ever since I can remember, so it just means a lot to me."

"I actually thought you were serious for a sec," Ness said, "Because you had amnesia so you wouldn't have known until recently anyways. Imagine how many more jokes you can make now!"

"Had amnesia?" Dr. Andonuts spoke up, apparently listening to the conversation of three boys. "What did you forget?"

"... My whole life," Ninten answered sheepishly.

"How did that happen?" Dr. Andonuts asked. "It would take a lot for a memory of one's life to just disappear."

Ninten was looking a little uncomfortable with being diagnose by a doctor. "Well… uh… bad operation?"

"Oh right, you wouldn't know… hmmm…" Dr. Andonuts was looking at Ninten with a very curious expression.

"Wouldn't know what?" Lucas asked.

"You know what? It's getting kinda cramped and stuffy in here, why don't we go out for some fresh air?" Ninten quickly said.

"Aw, don't you want to hear what Dr. Andonuts has to say?" Ness asked. "It's almost like he's begging us to care about the thing that he knows and we don't."

Ninten was blushing and trying to hide his face by looking down. "N-no, it's… really not necessary, Ness!"

"I think… yeah, I remember seeing you… or was it Ness? On the Pork Ship that day…" Dr. Andonuts said. "You were talking to Porky and Fassad, but then you just-"

"You sure we can't just go walking in the forest with the nice chimeras?" Ninten interrupted.

"I mean, if you really want to…" Lucas said.

"I _do_ kind of want to hear what you're hiding from us, Ninten," Ness said, looking into Nitnen's uneasy eyes. "Because it's pretty obvious that you're doing a really bad job of trying to steer the topic away from something… secretive. It could be harmless yet embarrassing, but I get the feeling that isn't the case."

Ninten frowned as he looked over at Lucas.

"It's okay, Ninten," Lucas whispered. "I won't judge."

"Well anyways…" Dr. Andonuts continued. "I remember seeing one of you two…" he pointed at Ness and Ninten. "In the Pork Ship talking with Porky and Fassad. I only remember a few words they were talking about… something about the future, the safe capsule and needles… but I didn't understand much about it. And one of you just kind of disappeared an hour later."

"That was _not_ me," Ness said. "I'm pretty sure that I would remember something like that, and it's clear that Ninten _does_ remember something like that."

"Stop picking on him!" Lucas snapped. "He can have his secrets if he wants to."

Everyone looked at Lucas, surprised that he was defending Ninten, even Ninten himself.

Ninten gave a small smile and said, "Thanks, Lucas… But I don't remember talking to Porky or Fassad on a Pork Ship, at least nothing like that. I only remember trying to escape from him and the Pigmasks… Dr. Andonuts, are you sure that was _me_ you saw?"

"Well, I don't think it was Ness. The boy was wearing a scarf, like you are. And he didn't seem to be a clone or a robot," Dr. Andonuts said.

"Ninten…" Ness said. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's cool, but it's not hard to tell by your response that you _do_ remember at least some of that."

Ninten sighed, before he gave a sheepish grin, "Guess I shouldn't try to hide it, huh? … Ness, while we were back in my timeline, I actually remembered… I remembered my life. It was when Ana was singing that song… the Eight Melody song. It was the only thing that defeated Giegue when we faced him, we couldn't even scratch him otherwise. But yeah, I remember everything now. However, my memory of _how_ I lost my… well, memories, didn't add up to Dr. Andonuts' story. I do remember being on the Pork Ship, but as their prisoner."

"You implied that you regained all of your memories earlier," Ness said, "So I already knew that. But your explanation still doesn't add up with your discomfort. And yes, I get that any mention of Porky or the pigmasks is a little uncomfortable… but I don't think that's it."

Ninten frowned a bit, "... Huh… you know, I don't know why either. I just felt really uncomfortable about it. There's really no reason for me to. Maybe… I didn't get _all_ of my memory back as I thought?"

 _...Do I trust him?_ Ness thought. _He does legitimately look confused._

 _"_ _Ness, if I were lying to you, you'd know right away. I'm not a very good liar, remember?"_ Ninten sent telepathically.

 _"_ _..."_

Was Ness being too cynical?

"Can that happen, Dr. Andonuts?" Lucas asked. "Can someone feel like they got all of their memory back but still be missing a few memories here and there?"

"It's very easy to make a mistake when it comes to memory. After all, memories can easily get distorted and fade over time," Dr. Andonuts explained. "If someone wanted to implant false memory, then the person could easily just accept that as a fact. Like with your… brother… he was implanted with memories of just being born as a chimera while his true ones remain deep in the darkness of his subconscious mind. It's not easy to get those back, especially if the person believes the implanted memory is true."

"What would Porky gain of implanting a false memory in me?" Ninten asked.

"I don't know myself, Ninten. Perhaps you and Porky did something together?" Dr. Andonuts suggested.

Ninten frowned but just kept looking puzzled.

"He did hold _your_ family hostage," Ness pointed out. "There seems to be more than he let on between the two of you. And do you remember his last words? He said that he met you before but not in the way that you thought. I don't know what's going on, but he's trying to manipulate you, even after death. To what ends, though?"

"I don't know, Ness. You two were the ones who shared history, not me." Ninten frowned.

"But…" Dr. Andonuts spoke up. "How did you two come back to this timeline again? You didn't have the machine with you anymore."

Ninten paused before he said, "... I used the 4th D Slip Reverse, in gamma level."

"And what does that do?" The balding doctor asked.

"It makes me go back in time. The higher the level, the further back in time I can go. Alpha allows me to go back between a minute to a day for example. Omega allows me to go back in years, centuries even, if I wanted to," Ninten explained. "Of course, if I go too far or use it too much… well… I could end up shutting down my own brain."

"Really?" Lucas asked, his eyes widening. "So could you go back in time and try to change the past to alter the future?"

 _That's exactly what we're trying to do, Chrono Trigger style,_ Ness thought.

Ninten chuckled sheepishly, "Basically yes. I can also go into the future with it as you've experienced it yourself a few times."

"So you can time travel with your own PSI," Dr. Andonuts said, sounding fascinated.

"...I see where this is going," Ness said. "It's possible that a future Ninten went back in time and talked to Porky like you saw, right? That would fit Porky's little riddle about them meeting but not in the way that Ninten believed."

"Yes, the possibility is there indeed," Dr. Andonuts said. "But the question is why, what reason would Ninten have to go back and talk to them? The keywords being the future, the capsule and the needles, but we don't know much about them without any context."

"Maybe Ninten wanted to change the past," Lucas whispered. "Maybe we failed to stop Porky and he wanted to go back. Maybe we're living in an altered universe."

"Porky _did_ say that something different happened in this timeline," Ninten admitted. "But we don't know what it was or why I was involved. I don't think we'll figure it out right now, especially if it happens in the future or… past… or in a timeline that no longer exists. Why don't we just stop thinking too much about it and relax? My head is still pounding."

"Agreed," Ness said. "I want to talk to Duster about something. Do you want to see if we can find him, Ninten?"

"Yeah, I helped Duster before, so I'm worried about him," Ninten said. "And I just realized why Kumatora's been so quiet… she's not here anymore… when did she leave?"

"About an hour ago, she doesn't like staying in one place too long," Dr. Andonuts answered.

"An hour?" Ness asked. "But we've only been talking for about 10 or 20 minutes. Are you sure that your time senses aren't out of whack?"

Dr. Andonuts held up a watch. "Time flies when you're focussed on something."

 _...I'm pretty sure that the minute hand has only moved 90 degrees, tops,_ Ness thought. _Dr. Andonuts is officially crazy._

Ninten smiled at Lucas, though a little more timid than usual. "Hey Lucas… would you mind helping us find Duster or your dad? I'd like to talk to one of them."

"I can just tell you where they are," Lucas said. "They're over by my mom's grave. I think that I'm going to talk with Claus, if that's all right."

"Of course. I hope you're able to help your brother recover." Ninten smiled at him.

"All right," Lucas said. "Thanks for understanding, Ninten. I'll go right now. See you!"

"We should probably head off too," Ness said. "It's not like we have anything better to do, after all."

"Yeah, let's go," Ninten nodded.

As soon as the boys left the house and went to their destination, Ness sighed in relief

"Do you think we should tell them? About… their future selves?" Ninten whispered softly to Ness.

"Would they believe us?" Ness asked back.

"Probably not, but… shouldn't we, you know, do something about it?" Ninten said before smiling sheepishly. "If we figure out what to do?"

"That's the trouble, isn't it?" Ness asked. "We don't really know what to do. I think that we have to get Claus connected with Lucas somehow, though. He sees me as a friend, but he needs something more. If he can hold onto his past with Lucas, I don't think that he'll end up like _that._ "

"He said it started because he grew tired and bored, and killed someone." Ninten frowned. "How are we going to keep him from doing that?"

"Make sure he has people to connect with," Ness said. "Nothing fuels boredom and desperation like isolation. I think that I can keep him from turning into the Masked Man if I'm around, but I don't really trust my ability to survive for an extended period of time. That's why I want to reforge the bond between Claus and Lucas."

By then, Ness and Ninten had arrived at Hinawa's grave. Flint and Duster stood in front of it, talking to each other. Ness wasn't sure how much he trusted either of them to remain stable, but they looked normal to him.

"Uh… hi," Ness said. "In case you haven't heard, we're back."

The two men looked at them.

"Ninten, you're okay!" Duster said in relief. "I heard what happened with you and Ness. You sure you're both okay?"

"We're fine, Duster," Ninten said. "What about you? You were brainwashed last time we saw you."

"Kumatora and I are fine, we hope… there doesn't seem to be any big side effects, but it does feel like the world could just turn against you." Duster frowned.

"And how are you doing, Flint?" Ness asked. "Everything holding up alright?"

"Things have been… odd lately," Flint answered. "The Pigmasks started moving out of the village and to a place called New Pork City. And well… Claus has been really distant since he and Lucas came back. Call it a father's instincts, but I'm worried something bad is going to happen to him."

"That's an understatement," Ninten mumbled.

"I guess taking out Porky made the pigmasks a little more cautious," Ness said. "Duster, you're a thief, right? Or was that just Fassad's slander?"

Duster sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I am a thief, actually. My… my father was training me before, though I don't know how good I am since I'm apparently always a moron who doesn't know what he's doing."

"You seemed pretty good with stealth and using tools effectively," Ninten said.

"But I don't know if that's what really makes me a good thief," Duster sighed. "And anyways, we don't steal from other people, we only steal what's important and stuff that nobody really owns if you know what I mean. It's complicated."

"That's actually perfect," Ness said. "Because I have something along those lines that I need us to steal. I'm still ironing out the details, but it's not something that we want to pass up. Do you remember the lab where you were brainwashed?"

Duster nodded and cringed, "I remember that place all too well actually. Is there something in that lab you want?"

"...You could say that," Ness said. "I'm trying to work with Claus right now, but I'll probably ask you to come with me to the pigmask lab sometime over the course of the next week. Is that alright?"

"Okay. You'll probably find me in the retirement house with my dad," Duster said.

"Ness…" Flint said. "You were the one who saved my son from those Pigmasks, aren't you?"

"I guess you could put it that way," Ness said. "Although Claus was the one who had to do the heavy lifting to free his mind, not me."

"But you still helped him, and for that I thank you," Flint said, before turning his attention to Ninten. "And you gave Lucas something that he hadn't had in a long time; a friend. I thank you for taking care of Lucas when I didn't."

"O-oh, it's nothing, really! Lucas was the one who took care of me," Ninten said sheepishly.

 _Really?_ Ness thought. _Because it seems like Lucas isn't really stable enough to take care of anyone._

"I wonder if it's fate," Duster mused. "That you two were watching over both of Flint's boys?"

"I don't really believe in fate," Ness said with a shrug. "But I guess it could be. I think that _she_ had some role in this, though."

" _Her_ , huh?" Ninten gave a small smile to the grave.

"But I'm worried for my sons," Flint said. "I just think something's going to happen to both of them and it's not good. I hate feeling powerless to do anything about it."

"Well… they aren't… all that close as they used to be, so… maybe that's what's wrong?" Ninten suggested hesitantly.

 _"_ _Thanks, captain obvious,"_ Ness said telepathically.

Ninten promptly ignored him.

"Boys, what will you do?" Flint asked them seriously. "Will you return to your homes or are you going to live here?"

"I think that I'm going to return home once this all blows over," Ness said. "But I don't know when that will be. Still… I feel guilty thinking about how much my family must be worrying about me. I've never been a great son or brother, but my mom and sister do care about me. I think I'll at least take a visit sooner rather than later, assuming that Ninten is willing to take me there."

"Ninten?" Flint looked at the look alike. "How would he take you home?"

"His home is… a place that only I can take him to," Ninten answered. "At least from here."

"Alright, but if you could… please help my sons," Flint said softly.

"Can do!" Ness said. "I'm planning on doing that right now, actually. I think that Ninten can help Lucas as well. Lucas… Maybe I'm getting the wrong idea, but he kinda seems on the edge."

Ninten frowned as he sighed, "Yeah, I want to see if I can help."

"We should probably go now," Ness said. "It's not like we have anything better to do. See you two. And… see you too, Hinawa. I don't know if you're listening, but… we're trying."

There was a soft hum, though Ness isn't sure if that was necessarily Hinawa's spirit or not.

Ninten followed behind Ness as they left the graveyard. Ninten, Ness noticed, seemed a little more… somber than he used to be.

"Do you really think… we could even help them?" Ninten asked, doubt laced in with his tone.

"Yeah," Ness said. "All of the experts and people with fancy degrees say that maintaining social connection is one of the best ways to avoid becoming bitter and stuff. So long as we're here for them, they shouldn't turn into the people who we saw in the future… although it's disturbing that they have the potential to become those people. I don't want to think that the future Lucas and Claus are _real,_ but they are, even if we manage to help them. That potential is encoded in our DNA."

"That's a scary thought…" Ninten frowned. "I don't know if we can help them though. They've been like this for years, and they've only known us for, what? Less than a month? People can change, but… this is deeply rooted. How did things turn out that way? Why? How different was it supposed to be if we never came into the picture? Is it our fault this entire thing is even happening? That Claus becomes that sadistic monster? That Lucas become so paranoid he's willing to attack people he once considered friends? Would we have been better off never knowing any of this happened and stayed in our own timelines?"

By the end of Ninten's little rant, sparks of PK Beam was shining in his fists. The boy calmed himself down to dissipate it.

"Maybe," Ness said. "But remember, that wasn't really our fault. If your fears are true, then it's Porky's fault for bringing us in and messing things up. It's our job to fix the problems that he created."

"... I don't know if it's _all_ of Porky's fault," Ninten said. "He did say he had some help after all. But I guess now isn't the time for that, huh?"

"You guess correctly," came a hard voice from behind Ness.

Ness jumped, letting out a yelp. Upon turning around, his eyes widened in shock. He blinked, trying to make reality warp around him.

 _No…_ He thought. _It can't be... not so soon._

"Aww, what's the matter Ness? Not so happy to see your old friend?" Came the voice that sent a shiver down Ness' spine.

It was Claus, but he had the scar on his left eye and the sadistic smile on his face. This was the Claus from the dark future.

"H-How did you get here?" Ness asked, unable to stop his body from shaking.

 _This can't be happening._

"You know, I'm surprised that you're asking me such a question rather than saying hello. Aren't we friends, Ness?" Claus said, the sadistic smile never leaving his face. "Heh, even Porky couldn't make you shake this much, I'm hurt, Ness."

"...Teleport!" Ness shouted, before remembering how Claus had disabled his teleportation skills in the future without saying if the effects were permanent.

 _Please work…_

Ness dashed forward, grabbing Ninten and warping off into the distance. The two of them appeared right in front of Lucas' house, not a mile away from the Masked Man.

Ness exchanged a horrified glance with Ninten.

"What do we do now?" he whispered.

"Wow, you must be pretty shaken up if you're not the one coming up with ideas," Ninten said. "I would say we could try to beat and kill him, but I don't think that would work out so well. I mean, if Claus is destined to become like that, it would just happen all over again anyways. If we want to prevent that, we should do what we were planning to do; help reconnect Claus to his humanity and family."

"We don't have time for that!" Ness shouted. "And I do have a plan, but I wasn't expecting to have to use it _this_ quickly!" Ness' voice dropped to a whisper. "If we don't kill him now, then he'll destroy everything in _this_ world too. He'll destroy everything…"

Ness' mind couldn't comprehend the scale of such destruction.


	26. Chapter 26: Flight before Fight

**Connor:** Well, here we are with another chapter. This story's going to be wrapping up pretty soon… so I hope that you're ready for the climax that we hope won't disappoint you. But hey, if you've stuck with us this far, you can probably take a little more of our writing. :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Yup, we're getting to the final stretch of things! And let me tell ya it went in a direction even we couldn't predict. ^^'

 **Connor:** By which she means that I didn't want to drag this on for another 10-20 chapters so we found a way to end it soon. ;)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Well anyways, let's get to the reviews now, shall we?

 **Shimo no ko: Connor:** Yep, that's the goal of most time-travelling stories, right? Save the future in all that (I feel so unoriginal D:). And I didn't even notice that relation of ours to the Mother series with the final boss thing… but Porky isn't quite the final boss of this fic. :D And Ness has a legit plan this time. Trust me. ;) I also like how you factored in the fact that I update Ceres late so frequently that it's basically Friday/Saturday now. xD

 **Derpyburp:** **DarkFoxKit:** Hi there! :D So good to see you're loving this story. And oh boy, everyone's talking about Fire Emblem Fates lately. ^^'

 **Connor:** Three cheers for filthy casual mode players like me! :D I hope that it comes out soon for you… Nintendo plz. :/

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** Ninten and Ness helping Lucas and Claus, huh? Yeah, it's not like they haven't been doing that already throughout the story. ^^' I'm not sure what you mean by 'sounds kinda dumb', unless you meant not thinking about said plot point? The Evil Claus thing will be explained this chapter, don't worry.

 **Paula-Ana: Connor:** I can neither confirm nor deny your theory. :) Well, I _can,_ I just _won't._ I will say that the protags aren't going to track down and pull all of the needles. That would be tedious, repeating too much canon, and ultimately pointless since we're trying to focus on Ness and Ninten's relationship with Tazmily and its inhabitants. It was thing that I made clear to Fox that I absolutely would not do haha. And Ness has a _plan._ A legit one. ;)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Nice, so you intentionally put those two names together for Pollyana. ;3

 **A Fan:** Yes, Dark Claus is a hacker. XP And this chapter will explain it, and if you're still confused we'll try to explain the best we can. ^^' And it was never our intention for the story to come in full circle when we wrote it, but that was a good point you made. I mean we could've easily ended the story in that last chapter and it'd just be one big repeating cycle, but nah, we're not that cheap as to end it off like that. ;P Actually, the 4th-D Slip wasn't planned to be used much at all when I had Ninten first use it, it was only later on did I decide a bigger role for that power. Yeah, Porky's reign had come to an end, but I won't say what we'll do with the evil Claus just yet. As for Fassad, well he is still a threat even if he's not seen much anymore. Thank you for the review. :)

 **Connor:** Basically, we can't have the characters feeling _too_ relaxed, so we threw in some concerns about Fassad. His influence can affect them even if he himself doesn't. :) And don't feel bad about writing a short review. We're fine either way. :D We just appreciate that you take the time to write us a review at all.

* * *

"Found you, Claus," Lucas said from behind the commander.

The commander looked at Lucas. "Were you looking for me?"

Lucas nodded nervously, shuffling his feet in the sand. For a few seconds, the waves crashing onto the shore of the beach provided the only source of sound.

"We… never really got a chance to talk with each other, Claus," Lucas said. "Life has been hectic. Is it okay if we chat now? I don't know about you, but I don't really have anything better to do."

"I'm not stopping you from doing whatever you want, Lucas," The boy answered, picking up a sea shell.

"But this doesn't just involve me," Lucas said. "If we're going to talk, you should be comfortable with it."

"Why would it matter how I feel about the matter?" The former commander asked. "Whatever, just say what you want to say."

"..." Lucas let out a sigh. "Has Ness ever told you that you can be quite difficult to talk to, even when you're not trying to be?"

"He may have said something like that," The former commander said. "I don't understand why since I am simply reacting to what you said."

"That's the tricky part, isn't it?" Lucas asked with a quiet smile. "Anyways… do you believe now that you're Claus? You still don't seem fully comfortable with that name."

The other boy sighed and said, "I just… can't see myself as this caring person I saw in my head. Maybe I was him, but right now all I know is what I know as the Commander."

Lucas nodded.

"Well, you don't have to be like the boy in your memory to be Claus," he said. "People change. After all, I'm still Lucas, but I probably don't remind you of the blond-haired child in your memory. I'm too jaded and bitter. But even with those qualities, I'm still _me._ Do you see what I'm saying?"

"It's true that you are a little different from the boy I saw in my memory, but…" the commander hesitated. "You are still a person, aren't you? How can you say for sure I'm still… me?"

"I can't," Lucas admitted. "But I think that you still are Claus. Maybe it's me clinging onto false hope like dad, but… I think you're still there, underneath. After all, Claus always loved seashells, and look at what you're holding in your hand."

The former commander did indeed look at the seashell he was holding and couldn't help but give a small smile, "Perhaps you're right. Seashells always fascinated me, but I never had any logical answer to why. … Lucas, do you still cook and sew clothes?"

"Yeah," Lucas said. "Although, I started to hate myself for acting so much like a girl. I wanted to be more like you… and here you are, not even sure _who_ you are. It's a cruel joke. I guess the next question that I have for you is… are you willing to let me in again? Are you willing to let me be your brother, even if you're not completely sure who you are?"

"Why would you assume you act like a girl for doing those things? … You're fine, just the way you are," The former commander said. "Some girls don't even like cooking or sewing clothes." He didn't answer Lucas's question, hoping to steer away from it.

"Gender stereotypes," Lucas said with a shrug. "I guess Tazmily wasn't as perfect as we thought that it was, looking back. And you didn't answer my question."

"... I don't know…" The boy answered. "I've… never had to let anyone in before, at least as the Commander. In fact it was frowned upon if I ever did." He reached up to his neck, as if feeling a phantom pain there.

Lucas cringed.

"It's so sad seeing you like this," he said. "But… you let Ness in, didn't you? Even though you didn't mean to, you let him become a part of your emotional life."

"Yeah, and it cost me my identity and my job," The boy grumbled, though without any real malice behind it. "Sometimes I wonder if I was better off remaining as an ignorant, emotionless robot toy for Master Porky. I just… feel like I've been wandering around without any sense of purpose since I got back here."

"Well, right or wrong, you let Ness in," Lucas said. "It's better to play his game and see where things turn out, right? I mean, you can't really go back, even if you wanted to."

"I wonder about that…" The boy said. "But perhaps it is better to deal with the consequences of one's action, or else we would never learn, would we? You're asking me to give you a chance, right?"

"Yes," Lucas said with a smile that turned up old memories in the commander. "Because while I appreciate what Ness is doing to help you… I don't really trust him. And even if he is genuine, I don't know if he'll be around for much longer. He seems to have a habit of getting himself into trouble. If you lose Ness and you have nobody else, what happens next?"

"Heh…" despite the grave situation that could happen, the boy couldn't help but chuckle. "Ness truly is a magnet for trouble, and I let him drag me into it. Wasn't I like that before? I kept getting into trouble and dragging you into it, and yet you still wanted to stick with me despite that. Why? Logically you have nothing to gain but promises of more trouble in the future."

"Because I want you back, Claus," Lucas said, a pained smile coming to his face. "That's what I've always wanted. That's what dad's always wanted. We knew that mother was dead two years ago. But for you… there was still hope."

"That wasn't what I meant," The boy called Claus said. "You clearly showed dislike of always having to get up early to go play with me, and I always seem to get you into trouble. Yet you still liked sticking with me despite this. Did you feel like you _had_ to stick with me?"

"No," Lucas said. "I always wanted to be with you. You were just so… _fun._ I couldn't imagine a life without you. I guess now I know all too well what that's like."

"A life without me. A life without you. A life without friends or family. How much one little thing can change a person?" The boy called Claus said. "And what will happen if everyone I cared about just disappeared? … You're right, Lucas. I know Ness can't stay with us forever, this… isn't where he belongs. I knew that, and yet I denied it. When he and Ninten disappeared, I thought I had lost the only emotional connection I had left, so… I figured it was best if I kept distancing myself so I can disappear quietly too."

"I know what you mean," Lucas said. "That's what happened after I lost you and mom. I had a couple of friends, but I tried to let go of them. Luckily, Fuel did more than his fair share and kept in touch with me. But then I met Ninten… I think that I clung onto him a bit too tightly as well. I need someone else to connect to as well, because Ninten doesn't belong here either. That's why I was so happy when father took me back in. And now… I'm here."

"I wonder… do you think it really was just coincidence we both met those two?" Claus wondered. "I suppose it doesn't matter. We probably wouldn't even be here having this conversation right now if it weren't for them. I'd still be Porky's robot slave, and you'd still be alone at home while your father goes off to find a son that is no longer there."

Lucas nodded.

"It scares me," Lucas said. "That I could turn into someone like that again… or worse. I think that you implied the answer, but I want to hear it from your own lips, Claus. Will you let me in?"

Claus closed his eyes for a few seconds before he said, "You and I are brothers, twins even. And yet I left you all alone here to suffer. I don't really deserve to be your brother or your friend, and yet you still offer it to me?"

"Of course," Lucas said. "I can see how much you're hurting. I can see how much I'm hurting. Bad decisions on both of our parts don't seem significant anymore. We can both be better off by forming connections with each other. That's what matters to me. So will you let me in, Claus?"

"Would you let me back in? Even after leaving you on my own will?"

"Yes," Lucas said, smiling with his eyes rather than his mouth.

Claus couldn't help but smile himself seeing Lucas smiling. "Then I guess I have no reason to say no. I would like to remember what it's like having more than one person caring about you."

"Thanks," Lucas said. He looked out to the ocean and sighed. "I think that we're both going to need that. Maybe it's just me, but… I sense a storm coming, and I think that we're going to need each other to get through it."

"Yeah… so… my name is... Claus…" The boy named Claus said quietly, looking down at the seashell in his hand.

* * *

"All right," Ness said to Ninten, trying to contain his panic. "Future Claus is going to be here soon… it's going to get confusing with two Clauses. Can we just call future Claus the 'masked man?'"

"That's going to be a little odd since he's not wearing a mask, but whatever you call him, we just better think of what to do!" Ninten took a deep breath. "You said you had an idea?"

"Yeah, but it's not really something that I want to try unless we really need to. Maybe we can get all of our PSI-user friends and gang up on him. It seems like our best chance."

"You mean Kumatora, Lucas and our Claus?" Ninten questioned. "Yeah, good luck telling them that we need their help to destroy a psychotic future Claus."

"You got a better idea?" Ness asked. "Because I would love to hear one right about now."

"No…" Ninten frowned. "But is there really nothing else we can do?"

"Not really," Ness said. "At least, I can't think of any good alternatives."

"So what should we do now? Go find them?" Ninten asked. "If so, we better do that now before the Masked Man decides to go on a rampage or something."

"Yeah, let's go," Ness said. "Do you have any idea where they might be? My best guess is the forest, but it's not like I have much to go off of."

"I think Kumatora might be in the forest. Maybe… it couldn't hurt to go check, right?" Ninten suggested.

"I mean, we do have limited time," Ness said. "Teleport Beta!"

Ness grabbed onto Ninten's arm and ran in a circle, eventually appearing in the forest. It was unusually quiet, as if all of the animals knew that a machine made of flesh was about to ravage the world.

"Ugh," Ness said. "I don't want to broadcast any psionic messages because the masked man might hear them, but I don't know if there's another good way to find Kumatora, Lucas, Claus. Should I go ahead with it?"

Ninten looked around before he said, "I think the masked man already knows we're here. He's just toying with us, so go ahead and call for them."

 _"_ _Kumatora!"_ Ness shouted. _"Lucas! Bud! If you can hear me, come towards the sound of this message."_

Not long after Ness released the call, Kumatora came dashing up. She stumbled to a halt, looking at Ness and Ninten curiously.

"You two look like you've just seen a ghost," she said. "What happened?"

"Uh… well, what would you say if there's a murderous robotic boy on the loose and we need all the help we can get to put him down?" Ninten asked sheepishly.

"..." Kumatora's face darkened. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Oh he's more than serious, he's _dead_ serious," A familiar voice said.

"I knew he was just biding his time," Ninten hissed.

Everyone looked at where the voice was coming from, seeing the small boy with the scar on his left eye coming towards him.

"Hello, Kumatora, I would say long time no see, but it probably hasn't been that long for you," the Masked Man said.

"Claus?" she asked, her lips forming into a sneer. "What happened to you?"

"You know how we time travelled and stuff?" Ness asked. "This is him from the future. Claus, how long has it been for you since we've last me? The rivers of time work their magic in strange ways, so for me it's only been hours."

"Heh, you really want to know? It's been a few years since we met, Ness. I've been dreadfully bored and annoyed that you and Ninten got away, so I decided to learn how you were able to time travel. It took much longer than I had wanted, but I'm here now." Claus smiled a sinister smile. "And that's good too, because there's not much left in my timeline. The one downside to killing people is that once everything is destroyed and everyone is gone, there's nothing left to do."

 _We lead him here,_ Ness thought. _...I guess it's our job to take him out._

"Holy-" Kumatora cut herself off. "Man, I've never seen mental issues this bad. Maybe all of this time travel stuff isn't so sweet after all."

 _Enough talking,_ Ness thought, rage pushing him to act.

"PK Rockin Gamma," Ness whispered.

With a roar, an array of hexagons flew towards the masked man, slamming into him with a crunch. The masked man's cruel smile only widened.

"Now THIS is what I call a thrilling battle!" The masked man said, before eyeing Ninten. "But I am aware how easily all this could be erased, or rather, how annoying it would be if I have to chase you down through time and space again."

The masked man disappeared for a second, before appearing in front of Ninten.

"Paralysis."

Ninten's body was frozen before he could even react.

"I must thank you, Ninten. If it weren't for you, then I would've never learned how to time travel once my timeline got too boring," The masked man said, his cruel smile widening even further. "But now look at you; you've gotten depressing, just like Lucas. How pitiful, I guess you're not so happy helping me."

Ninten couldn't move, but he made sure to give the nastiest look he could give in this state.

"My god," Kumatora said. "Is there even a point to fighting?"

"...Maybe not," Ness hissed. "But I'm going to fight anyways."

Kumatora nodded, her muscles flexing as her face twisted into a sneer.

"PK Freeze Beta!" Kumatora shouted, using the PSI attack as cover while she charged forward and lunged at the masked man with her fists.

There was a loud zap sound coming from the icy mist of the PK Freeze. The masked man drew his beam sword and blocked Kumatora's punch. Kumatora yelped, her knuckles charred from contact with the beam sword.

"You were always such a wild fighter. You idiot, do you know how reckless you even are?" The masked man said.

"Since I'm probably going to go down anyways, I might as well take out a little bit of my rage on you," Kumatora said, leaping to the side.

Ness took this opportunity to charge forward himself. While the masked man had been talking, he had put numerous PSI buffs on himself, Ninten, and Kumatora. He slammed his bat into the masked man's side, his Offense Up PSI increasing the force of impact.

The masked man was sent a few feet away from them, releasing Ninten from the paralysis.

"Ugh, so numb…" Ninten groaned.

 _So we can free paralyzed victims by hitting the masked man,_ Ness thought. _Maybe he's not quite as powerful as he seems._

"Heh, sneaky, I like that," The masked man said, his cruel smile never leaving his face.

Kumatora lunged forward again, this time halting to avoid the masked man's blade. After the masked man swung, Kumatora delivered an uppercut to his chin.

 _Too easy,_ Ness thought. _He's toying with us. He could have blocked that if he had wanted to._

 _What power must he possess to be so confident?_

Ninten came in and swung his bat at the masked man, who leapt backwards to dodge the attack. Ninten cast a Quick Up to move faster and slam his bat into the masked man multiple times.

The masked man jumped away after a few hits and gave a toothy, sinister grin. "Getting angry, aren't we?"

"Why don't you take this seriously? You're just letting us beat you up!" Ninten snapped.

"And it feels good taking out your rage and frustration on me, doesn't it? Heh, but what's wrong? You don't seem to like it so much. The thrill of fighting and causing bloodshed for your hated enemy comes naturally for predatory creatures like humans," the masked man let out a maniacal laugh.

 _I guess part of the reason why he's so scary is that he's perceptive,_ Ness thought. _In the midst of his truths, it can be difficult to remember what really matters._

"Shut up!" Kumatora shouted. "PK Freeze Beta!"

The masked man stood there as he took the PK Freeze, his body shivering from the cold, but that smile never left his face. It was almost like he _enjoyed_ the pain.

"How much more will you take before you finally fight back?" Ninten questioned, glaring. "Even someone like you can only take so much before you crumble."

"I am well aware of that, thank you," the masked man said. "But let's just say I don't care how badly damaged I become. I can keep going, I can survive and I will have my thrilling battle with you three even if it _kills_ me. Show me more, more of your rage and anger, give me your bloodshed!"

 _I hate doing what he tells me to,_ Ness said, running up and clunking the masked man on the head, _But I guess it's our best chance of beating him. He doesn't seem to place much value on his life._

 _Still, it's strange. Why leave Ninten up when he can escape through time? Why leave me up when I can teleport away?_

The masked man stood there as Ninten came in to swing his bat again, but this time it seems that he grew tired of getting hit. The masked man sidestepped each of Ninten's swing before putting a hand on Ninten's back.

"PK Thunder."

Ninten gave a scream of pain and agony as the masked man released electricity from his hands. Ness could only imagine how painful it was having so many volts of electricity tearing through your body.

Then the masked man grabbed Ninten's arm after zapping him, and throwing him right at Kumatora, slamming them both into a tree.

 _Oh,_ Ness thought.

"I know you're all stronger than that," The masked man said, as he approached them with his beam sword. "And yet even now, you're still holding back, Ninten. Why? Do you believe that not killing me is the better alternative? Or maybe you just care too much."

 _He's getting serious,_ Ness thought. _Do I run, or do I keep fighting?_

 _…_

 _I'm going to regret this._

Ness charged.

Just as Ness was about to bash the masked man, his body went numb and he found he couldn't move.

 _...Yep._

"Why Ness, glad to see you could join us," The scarred Claus smirked at him. "I know Ninten can do more than what he shows. But of course, the big softy just doesn't have it in him to have the intent to kill. Well, looks like I have some work to do to change that, make this game a little more interesting."

 _"_ _W-What do you mean?"_ Ness asked telepathically, not able to open his mouth to speak.

"What do you think I mean?" The scarred Claus said as he approached Ninten and Kumatora, paralyzing them both. "It would be just so boring if I simply went around killing people again, so why not try something new?"

 _"_ _No…"_ Ness said, starting to get an idea of what the masked man was talking about. _"You don't mean to… brainwash us, do you?"_

"Ooh, you're good, but then you always did have ways of figuring logic out," the masked man said. "First the wild girl: she may be tough, but her mind is easier to manipulate than someone who prefers to think with their mind than with their fists. Besides, she was… _conditioned_ by her past experiences to give into the pain."

The masked man's cruel smile widened as he put a hand over Kumatora's head. Ness wanted to turn his head away, but it was frozen stiff.

"PK Puppet."

The scarred Claus's hand glowed a deadly blue and green aura that buried themselves into Kumatora's head.

Kumatora's head fell as the process was finished. Claus put her down before moving onto Ninten.

Ninten's eyes were half open, seeing what was happening.

 _"_ _Ness… I'm sorry…"_ Ness heard Ninten mentally said.

 _"_ _NINTEN!"_ Ness shouted. _"Please, hold on. Please…"_

Tears came to Ness' eyes. His paralyzed limbs couldn't wipe them away as they trickled down his face.

 _"_ _Ninten, Please…"_

"PK Puppet."

Ninten gritted his teeth and shut his eyes despite being paralyzed. The scarred Claus kept his hand over Ninten's head a lot longer than he had with Kumatora. The two of them were struggling. Ness could see Ninten was sweating as he was struggling against the PK Puppet, however, eventually the blue and green aura made their way into Ninten's head. Ninten's head fell.

 _"_ _PLEASE!"_

Ninten didn't move.

 _WHY?_ Ness yelled in his head. _Why why why why? How? ...This is happening, isn't it? He'll brainwash me next!_

 _What do I care? There's nothing left that I can do. It's over. What's the point in fighting? We're all going to die sooner or later anyways. I'm living on borrowed time. Why should I care?_

 _...Because I can still make a difference in this world._

Ness knew that his paralyzed state could be overcome; he had seen Lucas break free from fear alone. Ness closed his eyes (he could still do that, at least) and focused all of his attention on breaking free.

"Aww, looks like someone is trying to break free and escape," Claus said, sounding disappointed or mocking. "Do you still care that much about life?"

 _I'm still here,_ Ness thought. _I'm still alive. Sure, I don't really care about my life, but I need to keep this world from falling into ruin._

Ness _pushed_ with all of the will that he had. Just like the mythological Tantalus, he found the weight placed on him to be heavy, oppressive, _impossible._

He pushed through anyway.

"It's like some sick joke," The scarred boy said calmly, not even seeming to care that Ness was breaking through his hold. "You don't care about your own life, yet you care so bloody much about other people's lives that you'd do anything to preserve it. How stupidly sentimental can you get? Eventually all life will end. Happiness, grief, joy, sorrow, anger, all of it will just disappear one day."

 _"_ _But that day is not today,"_ Ness said telepathically.

With a _scream,_ Ness broke free, thrusting his arms out to the side because he _could._ The slightly disappointed look on the masked man's face was reward enough.

"You can run all you'd like, Ness, but you'll never be able to escape," The scarred boy said. "Nobody ever will."

"Teleport alpha!" Ness shouted, running off into the distance as the world shifted around him.


	27. Chapter 27: Ancient, Future Plans

**Connor:** Hey, guys! Here we are with one climax prepared. The chapter after this will wrap things up with a resolution, so… this is the second to last chapter. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with us and my questionable writing haha. :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Wow, I can't believe we're already so close to the end here, but every story's got to have an end eventually. I guess now all that's left right now is to answer back the reviews for this and our last chapter.

* * *

 **Shimo no ko:** We don't get enough Lucas and CLaus fluff. XD Originally it might've been Lucas with Ness and Claus with Ninten, but Connor made a point in saying Porky would want Ness rather than Ninten, so they switched roles. And future Claus was fun for me to write, I don't know what it is about sadistic characters that makes it fun to write for.

 **Connor:** Ah, thanks! :) Let's hope that the "update weekly without fail" thing continues, huh? ;)

And Ness gots this. Trust me.

 **The-Great-Me-sama:** **Connor:** Actually, PK Puppet falls under the more traditional realm of psychokinesis than any ability actually in the Mother series. PK was originally ingrained in culture as bending spoons and stuff and was later expanded to include elemental attacks. Controlling a body is closer to the spoon-bending trope than something like creating a fire (I guess the idea there is that you use the motion generated by psychokinesis to create friction that ignites a flame?)

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight: DarkFoxKit:** *Imagine Claus with a British accent* … Wow, that wasn't my intention. ^^'

 **Ninten64:** Heh, well we'll just let you see what happens for yourself.

* * *

"Lucas… I've always wondered…" Claus said as the two brothers stared off into the sea. "Do you think there's a paradise world for those who had died?"

"Maybe," Lucas said. "But I don't count on it. I want to make sure that my life and actions are fulfilling on their own. I know so many people who only help others because they want to gain access to heaven. But what happens if it's not there? Maybe I'm overly cynical, but I would rather just do what _feels_ right to me."

"Of course. Nobody wants to die, it's in their primal natural instinct," Claus said. "But even if there isn't some great paradise world in the afterlife… at least… they don't have to suffer anymore. Maybe… maybe death is a mercy for most people."

"Maybe," Lucas said with a sigh. "But how do I know that's not just a lie that we make up to comfort ourselves in the face of a tragedy?"

"I suppose you wouldn't know, unless you died yourself," Claus answered. "Did you know that they could make chimeras from the dead? Their bodies would come back to life, dragging their spirits back into them. The chimeras that had died would know better than anyone what life after death was like."

"...Is that what happened to you?" Lucas whispered.

"Dr. Andonuts said I was still alive when they brought me in," Claus gave a bitter smile. "But that's… a lie. I wasn't alive when they brought me in. I didn't know what was going on at the time, but… I was happy. I felt at peace. And… I could hear… _her_ voice, singing to me, Lucas. I… I knew… she was calling to me… but then… I was dragged back, into a reconstructed body. I've begun remembering what happened before they stripped me of my memories… I was angry and retaliated, that's why they couldn't break me so easily. I wanted… to hear mother's voice again, to be with her and not in this… cold, lifeless body."

"...Oh," Lucas said. "I don't know what to say to that. It just makes me wonder what really matters. We used to complain about little things, but those don't seem to matter anymore. Wow, that's such a cliche thing to say, isn't it? But it's true."

"It's the little things that make up the greater picture, Lucas," Claus said. "But even though I didn't get to see it myself, I think there _is_ a place for those who died, or at least there's something that keeps us resting in peace. I heard mom… I know she's peaceful, wherever she is. The only thing keeping her tethered here is her worry for us. Do you think… maybe she's waiting for us to go with her someday?"

"Probably," Lucas said. "...It does make me feel better to know that she's watching us, though. It almost makes me feel like we're one big, happy family again."

"Then why don't we go join her right now?"

Claus blinked and frowned in confusion; he heard his voice say that but he himself didn't say it. Was it another malfunction? … No, he wasn't a robot, but then who said that?

"Oh wait, you don't want to join her right now, you want to cling to your pitiful life and continue living a suffocating nightmare instead of resting in peace."

Claus stood up and looked around in alarm. Who would use his voice to tell Lucas to kill himself?

"Who's there!?" Claus demanded.

"You."

"What?"

"You asked me who's there, and I answered." It was like they were mocking him.

"Claus," Lucas said. "Where's that voice coming from? It sounds like you, but it's not _coming_ from you."

"... There!" Claus fired a PSI blast from his cannon arm at a boulder.

A figure jumped away from the blast and landed in front of them, catching Claus off guard. The new figure looked like a slightly older version of Claus with a scar on his eye.

"What… what is this? Are you a clone?" Claus demanded.

The other Claus, the one with the scar, just gave a sinister smile. "You could say that." He looked over at Lucas. "Look at you, Lucas. You certainly seem much more hopeful than you will be."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucas asked, holding up a stick with both hands. "And who are you?"

"Why I'm your brother, Lucas, don't you recognize me? It's because of the scar, isn't it?" The other Claus said, his sinister smile still present. "A scar that you yourself gave me."

"I didn't…" Lucas trailed off. "And you're not my brother! Claus is standing right next to me!"

"HA!" The scarred Claus laughed. "Of course he is. But look at how depressing you two are. Sitting out on this beach, talking about senseless things that will mean nothing in the end. Why don't we have some fun now? All this talk has gotten old and boring. After all, Lucas, didn't we always just play instead of talk? So enough talk, let's play."

Claus didn't say anything, instead he was staring at this… other Claus and trying to make heads or tails as to what he was looking at. It couldn't be a hallucination, because Lucas could see him too.

"But the game wouldn't be fair if it was two on one," The scarred Claus said. "So why don't we make it a two-on-two? Let's see if our other… _players_ would like to join in."

Claus sensed a psychic link being used from this other Claus. And without warning, Ninten and Kumatora appeared beside the other Claus, both of them wearing the same blank expression. Lucas yelped, jumping back.

"Now then, this is what I call entertainment. Just look at those horrified look on your faces," The other Claus's smile widened. "That's right, you will have to fight the people you consider your friends. They will not hold back, so I would suggest you don't either."

"...Are you working with the pigmasks?" Lucas demanded. His eyes widened in realization. "Wait, you're from the _future,_ aren't you? In the future, I gave you that scar, and in the future…" Lucas' voice dropped to a whisper. "My depression only got worse."

The scarred Claus gave a laugh before he said, "So you figured it out, did you? Well yes, you are such a depressing brother. All you ever do now is run away like a coward whenever I come by, yet you threaten everyone else who tries to help you. You even threaten to attack and maybe even kill your precious Ninten over here. Horrifying, isn't it? To see what animals will do to their own friends and family if pushed to such desperations. Wolves will kill their own pups. Snakes would eat each other. Humans will torture and eventually kill their parents and friends. It's so easy to turn friends against each other that it's sickening."

As if to prove this point, Ninten raised a hand at Lucas.

"PK Beam."

A bright yellow beam shot out from Ninten's hand and hit Lucas in the chest, pushing him back and splashing into the shallow end of the ocean.

Claus himself felt frozen. He wanted to call out Lucas's name, but he couldn't move. It was like he was paralyzed, but no PSI was holding him.

Lucas chuckled sadly.

"I distrusted Ness for attacking my brainwashed friends," he said. "But… PK Love Beta!" A wave of hexagons washed over Kumatora and Ninten. "I'm really no different than him. I guess that I was just jealous of how close he got to you, Claus. Ness and I both kill our friends if we have to. Maybe that's why I wanted to hang onto you, Claus." Lucas held up his stick. "I don't like that part of myself very much."

"Yes, I know that part of you very well, Lucas," The scarred Claus said. "It's the only side I ever see of you anymore. Do you no longer care about anyone else now? Has it only just been you in your own little world? Because if it isn't, then you sure have a funny way of showing it."

"..." Lucas smirked. "Your taunts are refreshingly honest. Maybe I am stuck in my own little world. Maybe that's why I fear you, who my brother _could be._ I am not so different."

Lucas ran up to the present Claus.

"Claus," Lucas said. "It doesn't look like we really have a choice here. Kumatora has strong offensive PSI but she's surprisingly frail, so we should take her out first."

"..." The present Claus was still frozen.

Lucas touched his shoulder and made Claus tense before blinking.

"... Oh… y-yeah, right. But Lucas… right now, just please, call me Bud," Claus- or rather Bud said. "... It's… less confusing that way."

"Got it, Bud," Lucas said with a smile. Why did he look so alive when he was probably about to die? Turning to Ninten and Kumatora, "Bring it on! Let this battle of puppets commence!"

"Now that's more like it, Lucas!" Claus said with a smile, though whether or not it was sinister was left up to debate.

Bud activated his lightning sword as Kumatora began charging at them.

"PK Fire Beta!" Kumatora shot out hot flames at the two.

Bud grabbed Lucas's arm and rolled away from the flames.

"Don't worry about me," Lucas whispered. "That almost got both of us hit."

Lucas took a step towards Kumatora.

"I'm sorry," Lucas said. "I really am. But that doesn't mean that I can't be determined to knock you out. Because I know that you're screaming on the inside. This is for friendship. Offense Up Alpha! Defense Up Alpha! Shield Alpha!"

Bud watched as Lucas began buffing himself before turning to Kumatora and Ninten. Ninten himself was buffing as well, using the same kind of PSI Lucas was. They were both assist PSI users. Kumatora used more offense PSI, like Bud himself did.

"PSI Counter Alpha. Counter Alpha." Bud heard Ninten say as he coated Kumatora in a golden light.

 _Oh no…_ Bud knew that was trouble for any attacks they used, but Ninten only put it on Kumatora.

Bud knew why Ninten put those on Kumatora, because Kumatora was the one doing most of the fighting. Ninten stood back as the supporter.

Whenever Bud and Lucas manage to bash Kumatora, the Counter would hit them back. If they used their PSI, it would come back and hit them too. And when Kumatora got weak, Ninten would cast Lifeup on her.

Bud frowned as he watched their way of battling. It was difficult to counter something like this with the way they're fighting now. Should Lucas step back and be used as a supporter? Bud wasn't sure if that would even work.

"Uh… what do we do?" Lucas asked. "We have to deal with Kumatora somehow, but attacking her doesn't look like the answer."

"She's getting a lot of support from Ninten," Bud said. "He's an assist PSI user like you, Lucas. I guess I can see why you two connected so easily. He put up Counter and PSI Counter on her, so attacking her isn't in our favor right now."

"Thanks, captain obvious," Lucas muttered as he jumped back to avoid a punch from Kumatora. "Do you have any disabling PSI?"

"Yeah, but I don't use it much," Bud answered as he used his sword to block an incoming punch from Kumatora.

"Well, now might be a good time to use it," Lucas said, flinching as ice encased his body for a second before shattering. "Lifeup! Argh, she can basically take us in a 1 vs. 2. Ninten probably has more PSI power than we do, so he can keep refreshing the buffs."

"Yeah, he probably does," Bud hissed as Kumatora just hit him with a powerful PK Freeze. "That's cold! Ugh… I'll have to get close to Ninten if I'm going to disable his PSI! And even so, I can only disable one PSI."

"So you can't take out Kumatora with paralysis or hypnosis?" Lucas asked.

Bud jumped back and said, "I can try, but Ninten might be able to break her out of it."

"Do it," Lucas said, "And then disable Ninten's lifeup PSI. We can take him out quickly and move onto Kumatora."

Kumatora used PK Fire again, spreading it out to hit both of them. Bud ran through it as he cast PK Freeze around himself to keep from getting burned.

Kumatora tried to punch Bud away, but he used his sword to block and stand his ground.

"Paralysis."

Kumatora stopped moving, though her body trembled a bit, showing she was struggling.

Bud then raced to Ninten, but the other boy moved away from him.

"He must've used a PSI to enhance his speed," Bud growled, getting irritated. "I can't catch up to him!"

Lucas nodded grimly.

"Ninten!" he shouted. "Please, wake up! Can't you see that what you're doing is wrong on so many levels?" His voice dropping to a whisper, "I'll try to keep him busy. Beat up on Kumatora."

Bud looked over at Lucas before nodding. Kumatora seemed to be the more dangerous one out of the two.

Kumatora was hissing as she was still paralyzed, but that didn't stop her from somehow using PSI . Despite being frozen, Bud could sense her PSI building up for an attack.

 _How? Can people still use PSI even without having to move?_ Bud wondered to himself.

Looking up, Bud felt the blood drain from his face as he saw meteors coming down at them. Only one other person had ever used a PSI as dangerous as this one, and that was Fassad.

 _She can use PK Starstorm! But h-how?_ Bud didn't have time to ponder on this as the Starstorm rained down on him.

 _Ugh… I'm… I'm… s-still alive…?_ Bud felt his body going numb after the meteors tore through him. _This… this must be… the psionic stall Ness talked about before…_

Knowing he was on borrowed time, Bud didn't hesitate to attack Kumatora with his sword, adding his PK Thunder into it to make it more powerful. He ignored the damage from Counter since he was going to drop dead soon anyways. Bud gripped onto his hilt and smashed his sword into the counter shields, breaking them. He slashed again and again, feeling his strength weaken with every second that passed. Before long, his vision started to go hazy.

 _Is this… the end?_ He wondered.

"Lifeup Beta!"

Bud felt the life flood bad into him. Without taking the time to pause, he continued slashing at Kumatora. She dropped within seconds. He turned around to see Lucas smiling, looking rather beaten up himself.

"One down, one to go!" Lucas shouted before looking at Kumatora sadly. "...I'm sorry, Kuma."

"Heh," The two boys turned when they heard the scarred Claus chuckling. "So you managed to take down the wild card. But I wonder, how would you do against someone with more experience? And also someone with the intent to kill?"

"How did Kumatora use Starstorm?" Lucas asked, looking back and forth between the scarred Claus and Ninten. "I'm pretty sure that she couldn't use something like _that._ "

"Indeed, I thought only Fassad could use something like that," Bud said in confusion.

"Oh that? It's a nice little side effect from the Puppet PSI I used on her. It unlocks all of a person's hidden PSI potential," Claus said with a shrug. "It turns out Kumatora _can_ use PK Starstorm. Amazing what so many of us are capable of, yet go on for our entire lives without ever knowing about it."

"Ninten," Lucas said. "You saw what we did with Kumatora. I don't think that you're there anymore, but if you are… don't make us do it to you. Wake up, please!"

Ninten looked at Lucas with a blank expression.

"Oh Lucas, do you really think Ninten trusts you?" Claus said with a smirk. "After all, you tried to kill him before, and you're about to do the same here. Tell him, Ninten."

"I wasn't… really your friend… was I? I was just someone… you wanted to be there for you… but when you don't need me anymore, you'll just kick me out and say I was just someone who abandoned you," Ninten said.

Lucas' face tightened.

"..." his body relaxed. "I see how it is, future Claus. I suppose that it makes you happy to see me squirm like this. But squirm I will, because you will not take this feeling away from me! What you're making Ninten say is WRONG!"

"Who said I was _making_ Ninten say anything? These are the feelings he's been feeling deep inside his heart. True I may have brainwashed him, but I never deleted what was in his heart," Claus said. "Is there anything else you'd like to say to my dear brother, Ninten?"

"Lucas, you scare me… you have a lot of bitterness in your heart. I was scared you'd start hating me if I got you angry, or if I turned out to really be a part of the pigmasks. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for," Ninten said. "... But…"

"But?" Claus looked at him.

"... You also… helped me… when I needed it most…" Ninten said slowly, his face sweating as if he was struggling to remember something.

"Ninten…" Lucas said. "I'm sorry that I scare you. I know that part of myself and I _hate_ it. That's one of the reasons why I admired… no, why I _admire_ you. You're so sweet; you never lose your temper… I thought that I could be more like you, Ninten. I wanted to help you, but I was the one who needed help the most." Lucas took a deep breath. "There. I said it. I'm weak. I'm pathetic. I _need_ someone."

Bud was looking at Lucas as he said these things too. There was a strange feeling in his chest that he couldn't describe.

"You… you admired me…?" Ninten hesitated. "I… don't…"

"Hmm?" Claus frowned. "Well, this is unexpected."

"Ninten, please," Lucas begged. "I wanted to fight you when I thought that you were dead inside, but I can't anymore. We were _friends._ Doesn't that mean something to you?"

"..."

"Ninten, please…"

"Why don't you just give up? It'll be easier that way then." Ninten frowned.

"Give up and then what happens?" Lucas asked.

"I… don't know… You needed someone? You seemed alright on your own…" Ninten hesitated.

"I seemed okay?" Lucas asked incredulously. "I was teetering on the edge! Couldn't you tell that I…" Lucas shivered, his convulsions halting his speech. He cleared his throat and whispered, "Couldn't you tell that I was turning into my dad?"

"... Lucas…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you… regret meeting me?"

* * *

"No," Lucas said. "I never once regretted meeting you, Ninten."

 _I don't understand though,_ Ninten thought. _Why would Lucas care about me? We barely knew each other. I shouldn't even exist in this timeline… I caused him nothing but trouble since I got here. And he was clear that he didn't want anything to do with me in the future… so why…?_

 **"** **So you're going to let him go?"**

Ninten shut his eyes, the voice that had been guiding him since a certain PSI was used on him didn't sound angry, but was asking him if he wanted to turn back what he was planning to do.

 _This… this isn't the future… Lucas never hated me. He… he may have been scary, but he never once directed his anger and hatred towards me. I was… his friend, his only friend after two years of loneliness. I… I was… his beckon of hope. And he was someone I relied on when I lost my memories. Why am I trying to fight him?_

 **"** **Heh… fair enough."**

Ninten felt water leaking from his eyes. "I'm… sorry… I'm so sorry…" He dropped his bat.

Lucas' eyes widened.

"Ninten?" he asked. "It's… really you?"

Ninten hated that the tears were running down his face in front of them, but he gave a chuckle through his small sobs. "N-no… it's the puppet me that's crying and apologizing to you."

Lucas looked horrified for a second before breaking out into a smile.

"I thought that you were serious!" he exclaimed, "As another trick or something like that."

"Interesting," Claus spoke up, watching the scene unfold. "Nobody's ever broken out of the Puppet status before. Heh, now things are getting more interesting!"

"See, Claus, _that's_ the power of emotion," Lucas said, patting his brother on the shoulder. "Wait. I'm supposed to call you Bud. This is all so confusing." He pointed a finger at the scarred Claus. "But what I do know for sure is that we are taking _that_ guy out!"

Ninten felt hazy and weak, like his brain could shut off at any second. Lucas… or someone… with blond hair needed his help. They were lonely and filled with bitterness. Who was that again?

"Lucas, I don't think Ninten looks all that well," Ninten heard a Claus's voice, but couldn't tell which one, his vision was growing dark.

"Lifeup alpha!" Ninten heard in Lucas' voice as footsteps approached. "Healing alpha!"

Nothing was working. Ninten still felt like he could collapse at any moment. Despite this, all he could think of was that blond haired person wanting his help… or was the hair gray? It was… a lonely future… locked away from the world for eternity. Ninten wasn't sure if he was even in reality anymore.

Ninten gasped as a memory rose from the depths of his mind. Before he could react, the memory flashed so vividly that he nearly relived it:

* * *

 **Setting: Ninten's past and the world's future**

Ninten appeared in a weird cave.

 _Where am I? … Did I use the 4th D Slip too much?_

Ninten sighed. He had wanted to escape from his home for a while. Instead, he found himself in a weird room… and… he can't move.

"Wah? Why can't I move?" Ninten struggled to move around, it felt like he was crammed in a box or something. The boy spotted no doors that would lead him outside.

" _This_ hallucination again," came a wheeze. "I thought that my mind would be more creative than this. This one even looks like Ness."

"H-huh?" Ninten froze when he heard the other voice. "W-who's there?" It sounded like a dying old man.

"They always act the same way," the person wheezed. "I guess this is what happens when my mind is left on its own for thousands of years. Trying to keep myself sane just doesn't work."

 _Thousands of years? He's joking, right?_

"Um… listen, I'm not a hallucination or a figment of your mind. Uh… I might've… accidentally overused something that got me stuck here, wherever here is. Uh… hi, my name is Ninten, what's yours?"

 _Great, I just told a crazy old man my name. Why am I so stupid?_

"I suppose there's no harm in telling a hallucination my name," the man wheezed. "Although it's probably been a few decades since one of them has asked that. The name's Porky. Porky Minch. Nice to meet you, hallucination."

"Porky? What kind of name is that?" Ninten raised an eyebrow, ignoring the hallucination bit. "Nevermind, I've heard stranger. So uh… Porky, where are we exactly?"

"Based off of my memory," Porky wheezed, "Which is _extremely_ unreliable, we're in the absolutely safe capsule. Apparently, there's a world outside of this place, but I've forgotten what it looks like."

"What?" Ninten tried to move around again, but couldn't. "Well get us out of here then! It's cramped! And you seriously need to get out more if you know what I mean."

"You can try to get out if you want, hallucination. Some of them have succeeded in the past… maybe you'll open a hallucination of a door and be on your way. Feel free to try that."

"... Are you saying there's no way to get out? … So basically we're trapped in here… Uh… how long were you in here?"

"Don't know," Porky wheezed. "Days don't really have much meaning, if you know what I mean. The clock inside this mech says it's been about 20,347 years, but it could be a glitch."

Ninten stared at the wheezing old man, blinking. "... That… isn't possible. It can't be. There's no way you could live that long, especially without any food or water!"

"My body doesn't need any of that stuff," Porky wheezed. "If you don't believe me, then get yourself out of here. I'll explain this to the next hallucination if I have to. Now that I think about it… you really should be on your way. Most of my hallucinations don't last this long."

"Okay…" Ninten sighed. "First of all; _what_ even are you? Second; I'm NOT a hallucination! … Note to self; never use 4th D Slip Omega more than three times."

"Did you say… Omega?" Porky asked. "Like… PSI? And 4th D Slip… fourth dimensional slip. Man, you're one heck of a hallucination. I'm honestly impressed that my mind could come up with a time-travelling PSI-user as justification for why someone else is here."

"So you know of PSI…" Ninten paused. "Okay, so you've… really been in here for hundreds of years? Nobody ever tried to free you or anything?"

"Can't," Porky said. "This capsule is impenetrable from the outside. Don't ask how I got in here. It's a long story, and it's not like I have all the time in the world." Porky broke down into a coughing fit. "Oh wait, I _do._ "

Ninten frowned, if this old man was telling the truth, then he's been locked up in isolation for hundreds of years. Ninten couldn't even imagine being in isolation for _one_ year, let alone hundreds. It's a wonder how Porky didn't die of insanity if he couldn't die of old age or lack of basic body needs.

"... W-well uh… hey, what if I got you out of here?" Ninten suggested.

"You can't," Porky said. "Even if you could time travel back out of here, hallucination, I can't go with you. Don't ask me why; I don't know."

"Okay, I'm going to prove to you once and for all I am NOT a hallucination. And really, nobody deserves a fate like this. I don't know what you did that made you end up in here, but I'm going to get you out now," Ninten said as he took Porky's hand.

 _Whoa… it's almost like holding onto bones with flesh._

"4th D Slip Reverse Omega!"

Ninten slipped through the time stream along with Porky, who looked very surprised. Ninten had taken them back to his own timeline, in his room.

"Ah, there we go! See, you're free from that capsule!" Ninten smiled. "Although, maybe I shouldn't keep you here for too long, or my mom would freak out."

"Hm…" Porky said. "This is _quite_ a hallucination. Fine, I'll play along. If you can travel through time, you might want to go back to my era. I come from a city called New Pork. Did a lot of things that I probably shouldn't have. Caused a lot of pain." Ninten shouted in alarm as Porky started to fade away, somehow. "Huh. It looks like the time travel is erasing me. I never really understood how that mechanic worked. Eh, this is the fifth time that I've hallucinated that this century. Goodbye, Ninten."

The next second, Porky was gone.

"..." Ninten frowned. "4th D Slip Omega!"

 _I don't know why, but I was feeling determined to save Porky from that fate. Maybe… maybe there was something for me to do…_

* * *

Ninten had fallen unconscious. Lucas was trying to shake him awake, but to no avail.

"I guess Ninten's mind got overwhelmed," Bud said softly.

"And I guess you're just going to sit around and watch, huh?" Lucas asked the scarred Claus. "Eh, I suppose it's better than actively trying to kill us."

"No, it's much more entertaining watching you fuss over your friend," Claus said.

Bud frowned at him. If this other Claus got bored with this, he would most likely attack.

"I don't understand… if you're me from the future, then why am I like this?" Bud demanded.

"Not a very pretty picture, is it?" Claus said to his past self. "I guess you can blame the events of our past, or perhaps going insane after a while. I really don't care, just use your imagination, or perhaps you'll find out yourself someday!"

" _If_ we survive through this day," Lucas said. "Our goal should be for you _not_ to become like that. Deal?"

"But I don't even know _how_ I ended up that way." Bud frowned.

"Aww, were you two having a lovely brotherly moment before?" Claus gave a sinister smile. "How sickening. You say you care, but you just pretend to. You've grown distant, there's no way you'd be so accepting after he's been gone for so long, you just _want_ to care again."

"Now you're reaching for insults," Lucas said with a reserved smile. "That's not really what's going on here at all. Hang in there, Ninten!"

"Heh, maybe not for you, dear brother of mine. But I wasn't talking about you." Claus smiled, looking at his past self.

"..." Bud didn't answer to that.

"Hey," Lucas said. "Wanting to care is the first step towards caring. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Come on Ninten, wake up! I bet Kumatora's still under your control, huh? Trying to wake _her_ up probably wouldn't end well."

"Oh, so now you're trying to defend my past self, huh?" Claus chuckled. "Lucas, how strong is your PK Love?"

"Somehow, I get the feeling that you already know."

"Heh, it's only in the alpha stage, right? I wonder if you'll ever find out how the PK Love can get stronger," Claus said. "I should've learned how to time travel a long time ago, this is all just too much fun."

"I don't really care," Lucas said. "Hey, look! Ninten is stirring."

"What is PK Love?" Bud asked.

"Uh… you used it more than once," Lucas said. "Remember? We were fending off the chimeras, Ness had us huddled into that doorway, and then you kind of destroyed all of them with that move."

"..." Bud just looked at Lucas. "... Uh… when was that?"

"Don't you remember?" Lucas asked. "Some idiot angered cattlesnakes, you and Ness went over here, and we fought them together… does any of this ring a bell?"

"I remember that, but…" Bud frowned.

"This is how it starts, Lucas," Claus spoke up. "My mind just wants to forget it all. Pretty soon I'll just have bits and pieces of my memory. Don't worry, they'll all come back, and when they do, well… I'll leave it up to the imagination."

"You're not making any sense," Lucas said. "You don't forget something just because you want to… why, hello, Ninten! Rise and shine, and try to ignore the sadistic man in the mask that could probably kill us at any moment. Wonderful world that we live in, huh?"

Ninten blinked before looking over at Bud, "Lucas… can you hit Bud in the head please?"

"Uh… why?" Lucas asked.

"The other Claus is using his Puppet PSI on him; it's why he can't remember PK Love," Ninten said.

"Aww, you just spoiled the fun, Ninten. I wanted to see what Lucas would do if his brother is suddenly forgetting things," Claus gave a mocked pout.

Lucas smacked Bud in the head.

"Not sure if that was necessary since the evil Claus realized what we were going to do, but… yeah," Lucas said.

"Oh it was totally necessary," Claus smiled. "Because I was getting bored. So, what to do now, hmm? I wonder… would you like to see mom again, Lucas?"

"How about we kill you now that we have Ninten on our team again?" Lucas asked, his voice falsely sweet.

"Nah, I rather die later if possible," Claus said boredly. "But good luck with trying to kill me, Lucas! This is the killing intent I've been missing from you."

"I don't really _want_ to kill anymore," Lucas said. "But I will if it saves lives."

Ninten gave a sigh, "Hey uh… other Claus? Before you decide to do that, why don't I entertain you with… a quick story?"

"... Why?" Claus asked.

"I just… need to get something off my chest," Ninten gave a bitter smile.

"...Why is nobody concerned enough about the fight to the death that's probably going to happen in a few minutes, myself included?" Lucas asked.

"Well… do you rather want to fight him now to the death, Lucas?" Ninten asked.

Bud closed his eyes and said, "Just get on with it, Ninten."

"Heh… it's quite funny to see how much you've changed since that timeline…" Ninten chuckled bitterly. "Maybe that would've been the mercy here."

The scarred Claus just sat down and said, "Oooh, I'm going to love hearing this."

"What do you mean, Ninten?" Bud asked.

"... What would you two say if I told you I had met you both before in another timeline?" Ninten asked.

"...That's what you're going to say to us, isn't it?" Lucas asked.

"Yes… Heh… the funny thing is, Lucas… losing my memory was not an accident like I thought it was," Ninten chuckled bitterly. "I had _wanted_ to lose my memory."

"Explain," Lucas said, all of his cheeriness gone in a second.

"I had used my 4th D Slip and ended up in your timeline. I would have to say it was a year from now, you were a little older. I found Porky fighting with you, Kumatora, Duster and even your dog Boney. I watched and studied, seeing how he locked himself in some kind of capsule that he would never escape from," Ninten paused for a bit. "I actually tried to talk to you at one point, but you didn't trust me. If anything you were… more like Flint was, you didn't want anything to do with me. I also met up with Claus, or at least… the Commander, but he didn't react to me at all. Instead, he focused on his orders and that was it."

Ninten took a second to breathe in before he continued, "Well… after a while, I figured you were the key factor into Porky sealing himself into his fate. I didn't want Porky to suffer alone in that capsule for hundreds of years, so… I decided to try something risky. At first, when I went back even further, I tried to befriend you without erasing my memory. But you were really reserved when I tried talking to you. You wouldn't even let me in the house and kept closing the door in my face. But I could tell you were lonely and needed someone to relate to. And that got me thinking… what if I didn't remember who I was? Would you relate and trust me enough to let me in? I hypnotized myself into erasing my own memories."

"What started as a simple plan to save Porky turned into something else entirely. I wasn't able to save Porky's life in the end, but I think he preferred it this way. I guess maybe I'm the one to blame for all that's happened so far, including how Claus turned out the way he did, or will."

"You don't really seem to care," Lucas pointed out. "Even though he's probably going to kill you in the next five minutes."

"Heh…" Ninten gave a small smile. "I guess that's why you didn't trust me when we met without the self-induced amnesia. I've distanced myself from… well, myself. I probably seemed really cold to you."

"No kidding," Lucas said. "You're not all that different from _him._ " Lucas shoved a finger towards the scarred Claus. "But if you're not actively trying to kill me, then I guess I'm on your side, game maker."

"Yeah… well… you shouldn't be," Ninten said as he stood up. "Basically I've lied to you all this time. Heh, isn't it funny? I could only be friends with you with no memory of myself. I guess it's true what they say; ignorance is bliss."

"Wait," Lucas said. " _Do_ you care about us? About the consequences of your actions?"

"How could I not, Lucas? Despite all the lying and manipulations, I do in fact care about you. You were the only one who showed me kindness when I was lost, or when I made myself lost. Doesn't mean I deserve to be your friend," Ninten said bitterly. "Well, now you know the truth. Feel free to hate me if you want. You don't have to help me anymore."

Lucas paused. After a second, he laughed.

"Gaining those memories didn't really change you, did it?" he asked. "You're still the same. Whenever I think that you don't care, it's _because_ you care so much that you don't want to show it for fear of being seen as whiny. You need to express yourself better, Ninten. Also… I'm in." Lucas put his hand on Ninten's shoulder. "What about you, Cl-Bud? Are you with us?"

Ninten looked at Lucas.

"Of course I am," Bud said. "If I were in Ninten's shoes, logically speaking I'd probably do the same thing."

Ninten looked at both of them, before tears fell from his eyes. "Y-you… you both… really forgive me for this? But why?"

"There's nothing to forgive," Lucas said. "But we can talk later. I don't feel like giving the scarred Claus any more time to figure out new ways of psychologically torturing us."

Claus stood up from his spot and lazily twirled his beam sword. "Such sweet moments, oh how I miss how much they sickened me. But now I'm ready for some action. Let's see how you little saps fight together against a common enemy!"

"Looks like we're getting to him," Lucas whispered. "No insults. No games." His voice rose to a shout. "Let's do this!"

Claus was a fast fighter. He used his sword to shoot out electricity at two of the boys, hitting Ninten and Lucas.

"PSI Shield Omega!" Ninten yelled, covering his party in a purple light.

"..." Lucas' face darkened. "Even if we beat him, won't he just slip away through time? I feel like he's still toying with us… but there's no way that I'm going down without a fight."

Lucas darted in and out of combat, taking any opportunity that he could to attack the scarred Claus. The scarred Claus, however, proved more skillful than Bud had expected. His mechanical efficiency carried with it a certain grace. It was hard to comprehend how a whirlwind of lasers and death could seem so beautiful. The scarred boy flowed back and forth like a coursing river, somehow managing to send all of his opponents reeling. For every attack that the scarred child took, he returned the favor five times over.

"How… can we beat him?" Lucas asked, gritting his teeth. "How can we beat _this?_ "

"Don't ask such a stupid question, Lucas," The scarred Claus said as he summoned orbs of light surrounding them.

"What are those orbs?" Bud demanded. "How can you have PSI that I've never heard of?"

"You'd be surprised what you would be capable of once you learn to utilize both your humanity and machine parts," the scarred chimera smiled. "And when death just seems like an inconvenience, you don't mind digging deeper into your mind, even to the point of risking brain damage."

The orbs of light fired what appears to be similar to Ninten's PK Beam, but smaller. It didn't do big damage, but it fired non stop, causing all the damage to build up at an alarming rate.

"That's crazy!" Ninten yelled, trying to use a shield to try and minimize the damages as much as he could.

"Lifeup Beta!" Lucas shouted, falling to his knees. "Urg… can't hold on for much longer."

"Claus!" Bud heard from behind him. "Lucas! Fuel sent me over here! And… by the Dark Dragon's might, who are _you?_ "

Bud risked a glance behind him to see Flint staring at the scarred chimera, his eyes shining with pain.

"Dad…" Lucas said. Bud could make out sounds of light sobbing amongst the barrage of lasers.

The lasers stopped.

"Heh… you are all pathetic, you know that?" The scarred Claus said. "Perhaps I should've came at a more recent time when you're all a little more seasoned. Oh well, guess the fun's over."

Bud felt an unease feeling tightening around his chest.

"Hey Lucas, remember when I said I couldn't use PK Love anymore?" The scarred Claus said. "Well… I lied. Let's see if you can survive _this_. PK Love Omega!"

While the scarred Claus was moving his hands to activate the ability, Flint sprinted forward faster than Bud could believe.

"Oh no you don't!" Flint roared. " _Nobody_ hurts my children again!"

The hexagons of the masked man's PK Love flew forward and collided with Flint. But instead of washing over him like a wave and proceeding to annihilate Bud and the others, the hexagons… stopped. Flint took each one like a bullet, somehow stopping the psionic energy from going further.

"...Heh," Flint said. "Sorry. That's… all that I can do."

He fell to the ground.

"Dad!" Lucas shouted. "DAD!"

"Mr. Flint!" Ninten called in concern.

Bud watched the man on the ground, not knowing how to react. He barely interacted with this man, and yet there was something… bubbling in his chest, and that feeling of falling.

The scarred Claus was surprisingly silent as he looked at Flint's unconscious body. He was looking rather shocked himself.

"... Why…?" The scarred chimera then glared angrily. "Why would he do something so idiotic!? Jumping in front of a fatal attack like that, how stupid can you get? Did he want to join his wife that badly?"

"...Dad," Lucas whispered, sobbing quietly. "We can take more, right? If he uses that move again, we can survive with our psionic stall and heal up. But… how long can we last? Everyone's going to die."

"We're not going to die, Lucas," Bud said firmly. "If… if the other… me… wanted to kill and destroy this world, he would've done so already. If he really is me, then he's probably tired of the destruction and wants something else. But… the problem is he doesn't know what he wants, like me."

"I know enough," the other Claus said. "I'm bored of destruction, yes, but that doesn't mean I'm done with the thrill of fighting and killing. You can't change that about me."

The scarred Claus summoned more beam orbs around them. "Don't worry about dear old dad, all of you can join him! You won't survive this a second time. PK Love…"

Right then, Bud sensed a _massive_ psionic spike that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The scarred Claus seemed to sense it too, as he hesitated before letting loose a psionic storm of energy.

 _What could possibly…_

"DEUS EX MACHINAAAAA!"

Ness and Duster appeared right above the masked man's head, carrying some sort of net. Naturally, Ness was the one shouting at the top of his lungs.

 _A net…?_

Then it clicked. This wasn't just _any_ net. Bud noted that Duster rather than Ness was the one to actually hold onto the net, confirming his suspicions.

The scarred Claus stopped using PK Love and tried to use a different ability, but for once he was too slow. Duster landed on him, releasing the net and letting it cover the scarred child. Ness tumbled upon hitting the ground, wearing a characteristic grin.

Bud could _sense_ the net sapping the scarred boy's PSI away. Without a doubt, this net was the same kind as the one that had trapped Duster and Kumatora earlier.

Ness gave Duster a high-five.

"Nice thief skills!" he said. "You really saved us there." Turning to the scarred Claus, "Oh, look. Your PSI is all gone now. You can't flee through the rivers of time. You can't blast us to bits. How does it feel, now that you're no different than us?"

"Nice timing there you guys, I thought we were done for," Ninten said in relief, putting his hand over his chest, probably to keep from having an asthma attack.

The scarred Claus looked at Ness without uttering a word. The expression on his face made it hard to tell if he was angry, surprised or just uncaring.

Bud frowned, this messed up version of himself didn't seem to be in too much distress.

Then the scarred Claus said, "Well… congratulations there Ness, you've managed to take away my PSI. How does that make you feel?"

Ness faltered.

"PK Rockin Omega," he said, raising an eyebrow.

Hexagons washed over the scarred Claus, who only chuckled.

"Do you really think I care whether or not I have PSI? Sure it's an inconvenience, but you'd be dead before you stand if you honestly think I'm helpless. All this pain you give me, it makes me feel so alive," The scarred Claus grinned.

"He's bluffing," Ness said. "Without PSI, he's one of us. He's vulnerable. He can't zip out of the timeline if he's in trouble… which he is right now."

"So you really thought I cared about escaping my fate. How funny," The scarred boy hissed before summoning his sword, tearing through the net. "Well, looks like the whole gang is here. I'll bet you're all confident now that I lost my PSI and you can all easily gang up on me, is that it? You've all finally won, and the bad guy is on the ropes. How typical, that's how all you heroes are."

"We know that you still have tricks up your sleeve," Ness said, "But you _do_ care about having an escape route whether you know it or not. Part of what makes us crave PSI is the feelings of security that it brings. PK Rockin Omega."

The psychedelic hexagons tore through the scarred Claus. He fell to his hands and knees, clearly showing that he couldn't take much more.

Bud looked over at the unconscious bodies of Kumatora and Flint. Duster and Ninten were attending to Kumatora with Ninten casting Lifeup on her, while Lucas did the same with Flint. Bud wasn't sure if they were even still alive, but…

"So you're going to finish me off now?" The scarred Claus asked, still looking at Ness.

"..."

Ness walked up and slammed his baseball bat into the scarred boy's side.

"I suppose that I am," Ness said. "Unless you have something else up your sleeve."

"How very perceptive of you, Ness," the scarred Claus said. "But of course, now I'm just a boy without PSI."

The scarred Claus held up his blade before he said, "Game on, Ness."

Without warning, the scarred chimera tackled Ness in the gut, sending him a few feet away. The scarred Claus grabbed something from his pocket and chomped it down.

"I don't care about pain or death, all I care about right now is the thrill of battle," the scarred boy said.

"Duster!" Ness shouted, swinging his bat at the scarred Claus. "Throw the net back on him!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the scarred Claus smirked. "Ah who am I kidding? You'll do it no matter what."

The sword in the future chimera's hand began to spark with a dangerous amount of electricity.

"Without any PSI, guess I'll have to use more than I have," The scarred Claus said.

Bud's eyes widened as he knew what was about to happen.

"Scatter now!" He shouted to everyone.

Everyone just looked surprised before the chimera from the future shot out powerful lightning from the sword. The lightning struck at everyone in the area, immediately knocking them out. In one fell swoop, the scarred Claus had eliminated everyone… Everyone, that is, except for Bud.

 _"_ _We will protect you…"_ Was that Hinawa's voice?

Bud was wearing the Franklin Badge Ness gave to him earlier, and instead of being hit with electricity, it bounced off the badge and was reflected right back at the non-masked man.

"What?" Bud looked up in confusion as the scarred Claus was shocked by his own lightning attack.

When all the flashes were over, Bud looked around. He was the only one left standing after that. Bud grabbed the badge that was on his shirt and looked at it… how could such a tiny thing deflect such devastating lightning?

"Ugh…" Bud's head shot up when he heard the other's voice.

The scarred Claus was still on his feet, but he barely managed to stagger forward. How was he even still conscious?

"I guess… I should've… seen that one coming…"

Bud walked over to the staggering Claus and said, "... Why did you do all this? Did you really hate this world that much?"

"You… of all people should know why… You were probably thinking about it before I showed up," The scarred Claus said weakly. "This… started when _her_ voice left. I suppose it was inevitable… without Porky or Fassad keeping me… you… _us_ in line, eventually all our traumatic experiences would've caught up to us."

"..." Bud didn't know what to say to that.

"... I just… started thinking to myself… that this world was nothing but pain and death. So I began to truly believe that after our dad died. The funny thing is, he was actually killed by Lucas and his paranoia. I guess our experience made both him and myself monsters in different ways… Death… death was a mercy at that point."

"I get it. You didn't know how to deal with your emotions, and wore the mask of a psychopathic serial killer… did you even really want to kill in the first place?" Bud asked. "You didn't seem too pleased when you hit Flint… our dad…"

"I just figured… it would make things easier for me… to distance myself and hate instead of love. Looks like Porky influenced us a lot more than we thought," the scarred Claus gave a bitter smile. "I… I just wanted to be happy again. That was too much to ask. Claus…"

Bud stayed silent.

"Do me a favor… and don't turn out like me. This place had seen enough bloodshed as it is with our mother," The tired boy said before he began staggering past Bud.

"Where are you going?" Bud asked.

"Doesn't matter… I'm going to where my family is either way," Claus said.

 _"_ _Claus…"_

The scarred Claus slowly looked up, as if seeing something that couldn't be seen by anyone else. Bud watched as his future self gave a smile, a genuine, happy smile.

"M-Mother… I… I really… missed you…" With those words said, the scarred Claus fell to the ground and stopped moving.


	28. Epilogue: Home

**Connor: Hey, everyone! This is the last chapter for Time Distorter, sadly. :( Thank you all for sticking with this story. I know that two-person fics can sometimes be a little difficult to get through because you have to deal with two writing styles that aren't completely in sync, so I really appreciate how you all read and leave your comments. This story just hit 10 thousand views, which I think is amazing. :D Granted, each time you change the chapter counts as a view, but still!**

 **DarkFoxKit: And now here we are, the final Authors' Notes for Time Distorter. It's been a long ride, but it looks like it's finally about to come to an end. We hoped you all had enjoyed the story, and let us know if you liked reading both of our writings, even if they weren't totally in sync. ^^' So I guess all that's left for us to do is to answer the last reviews and leave it up to you guys on what to do after that.**

* * *

 **Shimo no ko** **: Connor: ** Yes, we shall pester you with our updates to infinity (and beyond)! ;) Yeah, we were going for that mother-3 esque ending (I had to restrain my impulses to completely disregard source material haha). Time travel _is_ confusing, no? Just be glad that I persuaded Fox not to add in any unraveling reality things due to changing the past. The stuff that you like is too much for our puny brains to handle, Fox. :( (Although, brain size isn't really correlated with aptitude or intelligence, so…) Ah, thanks. I was going to take the dues ex machina line out but Fox wanted me to put it back in. :) So you can thank her. Porky got out because Ninten travelled back in time to when the capsule wasn't around… but then I killed off Porky so that I wouldn't have to explain two Porkys in the same time period (there was a little miscommunication between us about that… oops :x). Ah, thanks! :)

 **DarkFoxKit:** Actually if it weren't for Connor I'd probably make this story longer. ^^' So you can thank him for making the story shorter and more bearable to read.

 **Karnelian** : Yes, plot twist. :P

 **Hellolord307** : Yes, it's quite sad. TwT

 **DarkX the Dragon Knight:** Evil Claus was pretty messed up, but I guess you could see he was Asriel as most people could be in such a hopeless and dark situation. Let me know if you got that reference/pun. ^^' And now that we're at the end, I hope it was satisfying.

 **PSIBoy** **: Connor:** Don't worry, I'm not offended in the slightest. :) You're a person with intelligent beliefs; it would be silly not for me to listen to you. It's hard to tell how much was actually bad and how much was just the story not being right for you in certain ways (I would need way more people's evaluations to distinguish the two). However, I will defend the ideas behind our choices.

Starting with with Claus confessing that he was wrong, it seemed like the natural course of action. It's not that he felt guilty or even that he felt morally wrong; it's just that he found all of the killing to be ultimately meaningless once he grasped the true consequences of death. And I've seen books that do really good info dumps in the middle of climactic scenes that manage to improve the story if the info that's being dumped is cool/meaningful enough. Maybe we didn't quite reach that, but I wouldn't say that it was incorrect of us to try.

The point that I will defend most vehemently is future Claus' existence. He's there to show that stabbing the bad guy isn't enough. Even if Ness and Ninten beat Porky, they lose if they don't help Lucas and Claus reconnect. Since you're a history buff, I'll point out the Treaty of Versailles as an example. Because there was so little focus on reconstruction, Germany in particular descended further into bitterness and thus came the Nazis. It's a similar concept here… and one that I don't think that our government is really employing in the Middle East right now.

 **DarkFoxKit:** And the scarred Claus allowing Ninten to talk before the fight was in character for him as he didn't care about fighting in general, he just cares about having fun and not being bored with how he is now. And as for Ninten being the forgiving one, well the characters in the game didn't seem to have any real personality so I see it as something up to the players themselves. So in a story format, the personality is more up to the author. And I would add more, but Connor's already said most of everything.

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 **DarkFoxKit: Now I will also say that not everything in the story was completely resolved, even in the end. We left it open for interpretation, or heck, maybe a possible sequel if we ever decide to do that one day. Until then folks, we hope you enjoyed the story in general, leave your comments on what you think and have a nice day. :)**

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"So let me get this straight," Ness said to Ninten, sitting in Lucas' house. "Your _real_ memories involve changing this whole timeline up? That's… pretty intense."

Everyone had recovered miraculously. The pigmasks had pulled out of Tazmily, leaving only scarred earth and industrial buildings behind to prove that they ever came. Life seemed to be going back to normal for the people of Tazmily.

 _Seemed._

Bud, or rather Claus, was spending more time with Lucas and Flint, who has a leg cast. Though Claus was still having trouble showing standard human emotions, he was improving more than Ness had dared to hope and he genuinely cared for his friends and family.

Lucas was trying to help his brother recover from this and showing him around the town and making friends with Fuel and Angie again. It was nice to see Lucas wasn't as bitter as he was before. Perhaps this will help both of them recover.

"Yeah…" Ninten sighed. "After that first meeting with Porky I felt I should do something about it. Of course, I should've taken Loid's warning about how time travel can really mess things up. Like that psychotic Claus."

"Well, everything turned out alright," Ness said. "And I don't think that Claus is on the path to become like the Claus in the future. Apparently, the future Claus told Claus not to become like him right before dying. I want to pretend that I engineered that course of events when I stole your Franklin Badge and gave it to him, but it was just luck. I guess that was the _real_ deus ex machina."

"You owe me a Franklin Badge," Ninten huffed. "But I guess it is a good thing you gave it to Bud, or we'd probably be dead right now. And I'm sorry that my mistakes got you involved in all this, Ness. I'm sure you miss your family."

"Well, if I hadn't given it to Claus, _you_ would have been the sole person conscious," Ness said. "We would have lived, but I don't think Claus would have gotten the same message. And yeah, I miss my family, but I think that this was all worth it. Normal life can get a little boring."

Ninten gave a small smile, "Even with how everything turned out… I don't regret it either. It allowed me to meet you, Lucas, Claus, Flint… everyone in Tazmily. I made a lot of new friends, and I guess I do feel a lot more… myself since the Gigue incident back in my timeline. Does that make any sense?"

"Yep," Ness said. "I can't really explain why, but it does. So… Fassad's still out there wreaking havoc, right? Duster and I didn't encounter him while stealing that net from the pigmask base."

"I wonder if Fassad knew that Porky would die when he chased us down in my timeline. … Oh, and I feel like there's one more important piece of information I should discuss with Lucas and Claus when they get back. It involves the Needles and this world's future," Ninten said. "Ness, we never actually saw what was beyond this island, right? But according to Porky, the world is in ruins, and only this island have any life on it."

"Yeah," Ness said. "That's… a pretty dreary thought, huh? So I assume this world is in the future and not the past?"

"Yes, it's the future. About 200 or so years from our timeline," Ninten said. "I don't know what will cause the world to fall like this. I suppose I could try locating the cataclysm, but you know how it is, mess with time too much and you'll regret it. I only did this to save one person, and look at the mess it caused. Besides, I don't want to accidentally make it so Lucas and Claus were never born... they've become my friends too."

Ness nodded.

"That makes sense…" he trailed off as Lucas and Claus entered the house. "Hi! How are you two doing?"

"We just played with giant, dinosaur beasts that could easily eat us if they wanted to," Claus said. "And I got some water on my striped shirt."

It was both weird and refreshing to see Claus wearing something so casual and similar to what they wore. In fact, Claus almost looked like a normal boy.

"It was so much fun!" Lucas exclaimed. "Although, it was weird that I had to be the leader. Maybe Claus will get that part of him back later… or maybe not. Either way works, right?"

Ninten smiled, "Yeah, after all he's still your brother. And I'm happy to see you so lively, Lucas."

"How was Boney?" Claus asked.

"Just finished feeding him. Did you know that he's got quite a dry personality? I mean he kinda burned Ness on a few things," Ninten chuckled.

"He did?" Ness asked. "Either I wasn't there or I wasn't listening."

"Yeah, Boney made sure you didn't hear him," Ninten said sheepishly.

Claus gave a small smile before he said, "Well… it looks like everyone's pretty much recovered… Dad may be in a cast for a while, but it shouldn't be permanent. Are you two… going to go back to your own timelines now?"

"...I think that I am," Ness said softly, "But before you get any ideas, I think that Ninten has something to tell you about your world."

The twins looked at Ninten. Ninten still couldn't get over at how much Claus really looked like Lucas with that striped shirt on.

"Have you two heard about Needles yet?" Ninten asked.

"Fassad and Ma- I mean Porky were talking about them," Claus said. "But they never told me in any details."

"I don't think that I've heard of them at all," Lucas said.

"Well, um… there's a world beyond this island, however they're just a big wasteland. Nothing can live outside of this island. I don't know what caused it or why, but… well, during my time traveling adventures, I found out that you two were apparently trying to pull these things called 'Needles'. I later learned that there's a great Dragon sleeping under the island, and only those with PK Love can pull these Needles to wake up the Dragon," Ninten gave a pause there.

"Why would we want to wake up a Dragon?" Claus asked. "Especially if it might be as big as this island?"

Ninten continued, "Well according to one of the Magypsies, the Dragon will inherit the heart of whoever pulls the most Needles. So if say Lucas were to pull four out of seven Needles, while Claus only pulled three, then the Dragon will inherit Lucas's heart. If Lucas wishes to restore the world, the Dragon will do so. But if Lucas decides to destroy the world, well… the Dragon will do so. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah," Lucas said, "But why do would we need to do that? I mean, we're living fine right now, right?"

"But not everyone is," Ness said. "The pigmasks still hold a lot of influence, and I don't think that Fassad will let his organization crumble like in the future that we saw. Restoring the world could help a lot… not that I'm saying that's the only way. Trying to solve these issues without the assistance of a godlike dragon is probably less risky."

"Either way, since you two are the only ones in existence… at least I think you two are, that can use PK Love, the choice is up to both of you. You can hunt down these seven Needles or leave them alone," Ninten said. "Admittedly the timeline I saw had you both going after the Needles, with Lucas pulling the last one. But you know, this is your own timeline, so you choose what should happen in your future."

"Well, we definitely want to think about that," Lucas said with a smile. "It's not like we have to decide right now or anything. Thanks for telling us, Ninten. It's nice to have options open."

"Yes, thank you for notifying us about this," Claus said with a grateful smile. "If worse comes to worst, at least we know we have an option to fall back on."

Ninten nodded before turning to Ness, "So… I guess it's time?"

"Do you really have to go?" Lucas asked.

"For now," Ness said. "But I think that we might want to come back and help you guys out. Are you on board with that, Ninten?"

"Of course. I can use 4th D Slip to come back here if needed. But… well, it might be difficult to keep in contact with each other," Ninten said.

"That would be difficult." Claus frowned. "How would you know if one of us needs your help?"

"Well," Ness said. "One option would be just to come back only a few days past this point in time. I mean, it would be longer for us, but we leap only a few days later than today so not a whole lot of time would pass for you. Am I making any sense?"

"Yeah, strangely enough I understood that. I think I've been hanging around you too long," Ninten said with a playful smile.

"Ness… Ninten…" Claus said. "I don't know if or when we'll meet again, but I am very grateful to the both of you. Ness, you really did care and helped me when nobody else could. Is it bad of me to say I'm really glad you were kidnapped by Mast- by Porky?"

"No, I don't think so," Ness said. "I don't know if I'm _glad_ that I was kidnapped, but… we did have some good times."

"And I'm grateful to both of you as well," Lucas said. "Ninten, this is going to sound cheesy, but you were there when I needed someone. Maybe your appearance was an intricate lie, but that's okay. There's nothing wrong with lying every once in awhile, so long as you're not hurting anyone."

"And even though it was a lie, I am still thankful that you took me in when I had no memory. You also reminded me of how to be myself despite your bitterness. You reminded me how to care again," Ninten said. "I'm going to miss you, all of you."

"Thanks," Lucas said. "That really means a lot to me, Ninten." Turning to Ness, "I'm sorry that I was kind of… prickly around you. I don't know if I should really say this, but I think I was jealous that you could squeeze your way into my brother's heart while I couldn't."

"No problem," Ness said with a smirk. "In your situation, I probably wouldn't have trusted me either. I _still_ don't trust myself, actually."

"Somehow, I'm not even surprised to hear you say that," Lucas said.

"Well, Ness is pretty unpredictable," Claus chuckled. "And a trouble magnet apparently. Still, you're a troublemaker with a big heart. I don't care what you or anyone else says, it takes someone with a heart and patience to get through to the Commander like that. Although… maybe patience is kinda stretching it."

"Wow," Ness said, pretending to be offended. "I have patience. And I'm not a troublemaker, either. I'm actually considered kind of a goody two-shoes in my time. I'm serious."

Ness was met with skeptical looks.

"Yeah, well in this timeline you really caused a lot of trouble with the Pigmasks," Claus said. "I guess that's understandable considering your situation."

"Well guys, as much as I would love to stretch out these goodbyes, we should go. I don't want to chicken out at the last second," Ninten said, giving a sad smile.

"Yeah," Ness said. "Tell the others that we'll be back in a few days. Seeing how teary-eyed Ninten is already getting, it might not be much longer than that from our perspective too."

"I see your eyes watering too, Ness!" Ninten snapped, trying not to blush in embarrassment.

"Ah, allergies," Ness said. "I hate 'em."

"Right, allergies," Ninten chuckled. "Well, hang on to me and we'll be back in your timeline."

"All right!" Ness said. "By the way, I don't actually have allergies. Crying is cathartic, you know?"

Lucas and Claus stood by each other as they watched the other two not-twins holding each other's hands.

"Ninten," Ness said. "When you go back to this time… be sure to stop by mine so I can come too, all right? And please don't bring me too far past the point where I was actually kidnapped… which was September 24, 1996. I don't really want anyone to know that I ever went missing. And while I'm making requests, do you have anything to eat?"

"Again with the talking too much, Ness," Claus laughed.

Ninten rolled his eyes and said, "Just ask your mother for a home cooked meal, it'll probably taste better than scraps. 4th D Slip Reverse Omega."

Ninten purposefully made this PSI slow. While their bodies were disappearing, they both gave one last look at the twins.

"We hope by the time we do come back, you two would still be at peace together," Ninten said as their bodies faded away. "Goodbye…"

The last thing that Ness saw before appearing in his own time was Claus and Lucas waving goodbye.

After a few seconds, Ness found himself standing in the outskirts of Onett. Right in front of him stood a ruined shack with a "Do not enter" sign on it.

 _Oh my…_ Ness thought, taking a deep breath. _I had forgotten how good it feels to be home. I'm still a kid, so I guess this feeling is justified._

Ness felt Ninten's hand let go. "So this is Onett, huh? It's a nice place. Maybe I should come visit when I get back to my own timeline, maybe even meet the younger you."

"I think that would mess me up," Ness said. "I don't want you scarring my younger self for life."

"Oh don't be such a downer," Ninten pouted. "Ah well, I guess I would prefer interacting with you as my own age anyways. I guess this is… goodbye now, Ness. Take care of yourself, and say hi to your mother and sister for me, would ya?"

"...Do they _know_ you?" Ness asked.

Ninten shrugged, "Who knows? Time travel can be confusing. Well, goodbye Ness! 4th D Slip Reverse Gamma!"

"Goodbye," Ness whispered as Ninten disappeared from sight.

Ness gave a smile as he turned back to Onett as the sun rose overhead. Met with so many familiar sights, his entire adventure seemed like little more than a dream. Or perhaps a nightmare, depending on how Ness looked at it. But either way, Ness was awake now.

Today was a new day. And new days came with new problems to be solved and new opportunities to be seized.

Ness smiled at the orange sun.

"I guess this will just be a secret between you and me," Ness whispered. "Nobody else would believe me. It's like the plot of a kid's book or something." Ness chuckled. "But what kid's book deals with suicidal tendencies and fascism? A freaking _terrifying_ one."

Ness whistled as he walked back to his house, marking the location of each building, tree, and field on his path. There was _so much_ to Onett. How had he not noticed this earlier? He was so fixated on his task that he had no idea how much time had passed by the time that he arrived at the front door to his house.

For the second time in his life, Ness felt more relaxed than he could ever describe. It was all over. He was safe. Tentatively, Ness grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. Inside stood his mother, cooking breakfast for herself despite the early hour. Ness smiled, taking in the scent of omelettes.

"Hey," Ness said, walking into his house. "I'm home."

* * *

Ninten stopped in front of his house. The last time he had been here was when he teleported himself to the zoo where Porky self-destructed his mech. He wondered how Ana would take it, probably thinking that he and Ness were dead or disintegrated. Still, he wouldn't mind taking Ana's wrath, because it just felt good to be alive.

Ninten looked up at the sky, not yet wanting the adventure to be over. Once he steps inside that house, he knew that it was official over. He could hear his dog in the yard, barking at some squirrels, which made him briefly wonder how he would react to Boney.

 _And to think this whole thing started because I became a bit too curious with the 4th-D Slip. Life is full of surprises._ Ninten thought to himself before turning back to the door.

Ninten opened the door, and with a smile, he said, "Hey, I'm home."


End file.
